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☆ El Salvador backs mass trials for thousands held in crime crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Nelson Renteria | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele speaks during a ceremony to lay the first stone of a new public hospital, in San Salvador, El Salvador June 15, 2023. El Salvador has been under a state of emergency for 16 months, sparking the arrest of over 71,900 alleged gang members. Opposition politicians and rights groups say group trials risk depriving detainees of their right to due process and their individual presumption of innocence. On July 14 at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, rights organizations denounced the deaths of 174 people in state custody and over 6,400 documented human rights abuses during the state of emergency. Reporting by Nelson Renteria in San Salvador; writing by Sarah Kinosian; Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Nayib Bukele, Jose Cabezas, Nayib Bukele's, Gustavo Villatoro, Manuel Melendez, Ingrid Escobar, general's, Nelson Renteria, Sarah Kinosian, Matthew Lewis Organizations: El, San Salvador , El, REUTERS, SALVADOR, Central American, Justice, Salvadoran, Harvard University, Legal, Inter, American, Human Rights, Lawmakers, Thomson Locations: San Salvador ,, San Salvador , El Salvador, El Salvador, San Salvador

[1/3] Asylum-seekers arrive at the Roosevelt Hotel where migrants are currently being housed in New York City, U.S., May 19, 2023. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File PhotoWASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters) - New York City will distribute flyers at the U.S.-Mexico border telling newly arrived migrants to "consider another city" and limit shelter stays for adult asylum seekers to 60 days as the city's Democratic mayor says it is straining to house them. New York City says that it has provided services to 90,000 migrants since last spring and that nearly 55,000 remain in its care. Thousands of those migrants arrived on buses sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican who has tried to shift the burden of receiving them to Democratic strongholds. "Please consider another city as you make your decision about where to settle in the U.S.," it reads in English and Spanish.

Persons: David, Dee, Delgado, Eric Adams, Greg Abbott, Adams, Joe Biden, Ted Hesson, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Roosevelt, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Democratic, Texas, Republican, New York, Legal Aid Society, Coalition, Homeless, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Mexico, York City, New York, Washington

☆ Thai protesters acquitted over run-in with queen's motorcade
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File PhotoBANGKOK, June 28 (Reuters) - A Thai court on Wednesday acquitted five anti-government protesters indicted on charges of attempted violence against the country's queen during a demonstration in 2020, a legal aid group said. The case stemmed from an event at the height of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2020, in which a motorcade carrying Queen Suthida was heckled as it drove past a group of protesters. The monarchy, which many Thais consider sacrosanct, is officially above politics and constitutionally enshrined to be held in "revered worship". "The court saw that police did not clear the way for the royal motorcade ... there was no announcement before the procession," Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said on Wednesday. "Witness testimony was different and even police in the area did not know there would be a royal motorcade (passing through)," the group said.

Persons: Suthida, Prince Dipangkorn, Soe Zeya, I'm, we've, Bunkueanun, Francis, Paothong, Chayut Setboonsarng, Kanupriya Kapoor Organizations: Government, REUTERS, for Human Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Bangkok, Thailand, BANGKOK

☆ How Defense Lawyers Are Using Video to Aid Their Clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Karen Zraick | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A man walking by inquired about the purpose of the shoot. “To get a person out of jail,” said Nicole Mull, a Legal Aid Society lawyer working with the filmmaker, David Simpson. Some are submitted as part of plea-bargain negotiations, in the hope of reducing a felony to a misdemeanor or to even get a case dismissed. Such videos tend to be employed by wealthier defendants in federal cases. The production quality and cost vary widely, but a high-end video can easily cost more than $10,000 — perhaps significantly more.

Persons: ”, Nicole Mull, David Simpson, Ms . Mull, Simpson Organizations: Aid Society Locations: Bronx, Caribbean

☆ Black Americans are getting support for reparations from other multiracial groups
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Stephanie Elam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Mass is part of a growing wave of multiracial support for Black American reparations – with many Jewish and Japanese organizations among them. It’s just human beings.”Amy Iwasaki Mass reads her 1981 testimony in favor of redress for Japanese Americans held in internment camps during World War II. “But I do think Japanese Americans as a group do understand what it’s like to be excluded on the basis of race.”Acknowledging the cost of historyPassage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 gave affected Japanese Americans the $20,000 payment and a formal letter of apology from President Ronald Reagan. Tamaki and Simon agree that arguments against reparations fail to acknowledge the cost of being part of a society. That’s called being a citizen.”Tamaki agrees that the work to repair the damage done to Black Americans is expensive and arduous, but it must begin at some point.

Persons: Amy Iwasaki, “ It’s, Stephanie Elam, San Francisco –, Don Tamaki, ” Tamaki, Ronald Reagan, Mass, …, Tamaki, ”, Don Tamaki's, Don Tamaki Tamaki, there’s, ” Tamaki mused, San Francisco, Timothy Alan Simon, ” Simon, Franciscan Timothy Alan Simon, San Francisco's, CNN “, “, Simon, ’ …, That’s, it’s Organizations: CNN, Black, California –, Force, Civil, University of California, Topaz, ”, Franciscan, California African American Chamber of Commerce, American Locations: Japan, Pearl, California, San, Heart Mountain , Wyoming, Wyoming, San Francisco Bay, Berkeley, Tanforan, San Bruno , California, Apt, Utah, Northern California, San Francisco, Franciscan, Francisco, Bay, state’s, America

☆ World Bank's new chief wants 'better bank' before pushing for bigger bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"I think a better bank is an important thing" to achieve. "And then I earn the right to come back ask for a bigger bank," he said. The bank's current mission statement refers to ending extreme poverty within a generation and promoting shared prosperity. This includes promoting more inclusion of women and youth in the bank's development work, with a strong emphasis on job creation. On several occasions during visits in Peru and Jamaica, Banga said the various divisions of the World Bank Group needed to work together better as "one bank," saving countries the difficulties of dealing with them separately, and speeding its approval processes.

Persons: Ajay Banga, Banga, Janet Yellen, David Lawder, Sonali Paul Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Treasury, World Bank, Bank, Thomson Locations: MANDEVILLE, Jamaica, Peru

☆ Over 300 Cases Tied to Convicted N.Y.P.D. Officers Are Tossed Out
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Hurubie Meko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The NewsThe Manhattan district attorney’s office on Tuesday sought the dismissal of 316 convictions tied to a group of New York Police Department officers, sergeants and detectives who have been convicted of crimes related to their work. Hundreds of misdemeanors were thrown out in court on Tuesday, and eight felonies are expected to be tossed Wednesday. The reason was due process violations, according to a statement from the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg. Eight of the officers who brought the cases have been convicted of charges such as official misconduct, planting drugs, taking bribes, petty theft and lying under oath. A ninth officer, Oscar Sandino, has been convicted of two counts of deprivation of civil rights, a federal misdemeanor, for coerced sexual misconduct against two women in custody.

Persons: Alvin L, Bragg, Oscar Sandino, ” Elizabeth Felber Organizations: New York Police Department, Legal Aid Society Locations: Manhattan

☆ Can Technology Solve the M.T.A.’s Persistent Fare Evasion Problem?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Ana Ley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many American cities like New York struggle to rein in losses from fare evasion, in part because the cost of penalizing transit users can exceed the amount of money collected from fining them. For New York, police enforcement is “part of the solution in the long run,” Janno Lieber, the authority’s chairman, said during a news conference about the new study. Police officials declared a crackdown on so-called quality-of-life offenses in March 2022, and enforcement rose by about 28 percent to 80,000 fare evasion summonses that year compared with 62,380 in 2021, according to the M.T.A. Arrests and summonses for fare evasion have disproportionately fallen on Black and Latino New Yorkers, giving fuel to critics of the approach. During 2022, they accounted for 73 percent of people arrested and given a summons for fare evasion among all incidents in which race and ethnicity were reported by the police, according to an analysis by Harold Stolper, an economist at Columbia University who studies fare evasion policing patterns in the city.

Persons: ” Janno Lieber, Harold Stolper, ”, Molly Griffard Organizations: Police, Yorkers, Columbia University, Legal Aid Society Locations: New York, San Francisco, Seattle, York, “, New York City

Our experts answer readers' student loan questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess student loans). See Insider's picks for the best lenders to refinance student loans >>If you have federal student loans, you have options for debt forgiveness, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Income-Driven Repayment Plans. Insider's Featured Student Loan Refinance Companies SoFi Student Loan RefinancingSplash Financial Student Loan RefinancingEarnest Student Loan Refinancing Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Show more Variable: 5.32 % - 8.94%, Fixed: 4.96% - 8.99% (with AutoPay discount) Editor's Rating 3.5/5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star Apply now Apply now Apply now2. While private student loans aren't eligible for forbearance in the same way federal student loans are, you still have options if you're struggling to keep up with your payments.

Persons: —, Pell Grant, Autopay, forbearance Organizations: Service, Public, Biden, Loan, SoFi, AutoPay, Federal Reserve Bank of New, AK, IL, forbearance Locations: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, MN, NH, OH, TN, TX, California, Florida, Texas, In Texas

☆ Opinion | New York Politicians Are Turning Away From the Housing Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Mara Gay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

New York needs that plan, known as the Housing Compact, and hopefully Ms. Hochul can resurrect it over the coming year. In the coming days though, Ms. Hochul, Mr. Heastie and Ms. Stewart-Cousins can at least agree to policies that the governor has called “low-hanging fruit,” some of which could be achieved by executive order. Albany can also remove caps on the size of new residential buildings in New York City, paving the way for the higher density projects the city badly needs. New York City’s municipal government can do this, but it needs Mr. Adams’s help. At the Department of Homeless Services, more and better-trained workers are needed to help shelter residents apply for city housing vouchers, an onerous process that should be streamlined.

Persons: isn’t, Carl Heastie, Andrea Stewart, Cousins, Kathy Hochul, Hochul, Heastie, Stewart, Adams, Adams’s, Dave Giffen Organizations: Gov, City Hall, Legal, Department of Homeless Services, Coalition, Homeless Locations: Albany, New York, New York City

☆ NYC woman indicted on hate crime charges after string of anti-Asian attacks, district attorney's office says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Rob Frehse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A New York City woman was indicted on seven felony hate crime charges in connection with a string of anti-Asian attacks on the city’s Upper West Side, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said Wednesday. The six attacks took place from March 16 to May 11, all within blocks of one another, prosecutors said. Rodriguez allegedly continued to punch the victim after the two fell to the ground, the district attorney’s office said. One of the friends pushed Rodriguez off the person whose hair was pulled, and Rodriguez allegedly pushed her electric scooter into that friend’s leg, bruising it, prosecutors said. The friend who’d earlier pushed Rodriguez pushed her again, and Rodriguez struck him with a semi-closed fist, according to prosecutors.

Persons: Camila Rodriguez, Rodriguez, –, who’d, “, Alvin Bragg Organizations: CNN, New York, Legal Aid Society, Street, West 106th, West 104th Street, Broadway Locations: York City, Manhattan, Amsterdam, West, New

Two dozen National Guard troops quickly set about stretching coils of barbed wire across the cement base of the bridge where the migrants had been. Under the order known as Title 42, U.S. authorities could quickly turn back migrants without giving them a chance to seek asylum. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday said the number of migrants crossing the border fell by half since the end of Title 42. A Dominican couple under the bridge told Reuters they had just reached Ciudad Juarez and had not heard of it. Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon and Jose Luis Gonzalez in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Adams Weakens Right-to-Shelter Rules, Anticipating Migrant Surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Emma G. Fitzsimmons | Andy Newman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

City officials have said they expect as many as 1,000 people a day to come after the rule is lifted. Already people have been crossing into the United States from Mexico in anticipation of the change. New York City has opened eight humanitarian relief centers as city officials have moved to help more than 61,000 migrants who have arrived over the last year. New York is the only major city in the country that provides “right to shelter,” the result of a legal agreement that requires the city to provide a bed to anyone who needs one under certain conditions. Under the nightly-deadline rule, homeless families with children who arrive at a shelter-system office by 10 p.m. must be given beds in a shelter the same night.

☆ Palestinians Demand Israel Hand Over Body of Prominent Prisoner
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since his death on Tuesday, Israel has not returned his body to his family and the government won’t say whether it intends to do so. “It’s collective punishment,” said Hassan Jabareen, the director of Adalah, a Palestinian human rights organization and legal center. Many other Palestinians along with international human rights groups have echoed this criticism, saying the withholding of bodies punishes the families of the dead collectively and could violate international law. Since Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, Israeli authorities have retained the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians who either died in prison or were killed during security incidents. They keep some in freezers for years at the National Center of Forensic Medicine, or bury them in graves with no headstones in what Palestinians call “the cemetery of numbers,” according to the Jerusalem Legal Aid & Human Rights Center.

☆ Amazon Union President Chris Smalls Seen Fighting Worker in Video
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Katherine Long | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +27 min

On the night of December 5, the president of the Amazon Labor Union pummeled another union member. Some longtime Amazon Labor Union organizers decided to begin organizing on their own, without Smalls. All three said they believe in Smalls' mission and support the goals of the Amazon Labor Union, but worry about Smalls' ability to lead. Amazon Labor Union members consoled each other after the union lost the vote at its second warehouse, LDJ5, last April. One purpose of the organization appears to be to raise funds for the Amazon Labor Union, according to its certificate of incorporation.

After almost 40,000 asylum seekers entered Canada from the U.S. through irregular border crossings last year, the two countries revised their two-decade-old asylum pact last week to stem the flow of asylum seekers. After moving thousands of asylum seekers from Quebec to Ontario, the federal government relocated some 393 asylum seekers to the Atlantic provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland as of March 19, according to official data. These transfers over the past several months have been Canada's first relocations of asylum seekers, the government said. Some of the asylum seekers and advocates told Reuters there is inadequate access to legal counsel, potentially jeopardizing refugee claims. Chamagne said her three staff lawyers are trying to help 164 asylum seekers transferred to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

☆ What to do if Supreme Court strikes down Biden's student loan forgiveness plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Demonstrators in favor of canceling student debt gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28, 2023. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesKeep your payments on holdThe Covid pandemic-era policy suspending federal student loan payments and the accrual of interest is still active. Those are the ideal ways to postpone your federal student loan payments, because interest doesn't accrue. For example, full-time teachers who work for five consecutive years in a low-income school may be eligible for up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness under the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program. And lawyers in Texas who work for specific legal aid programs may be eligible for the Texas Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program.

[1/2] New York Police Department (NYPD) officers are pictured as protesters rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Times Square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., June 1, 2020. FollowNEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - New York City has agreed to pay millions of dollars to demonstrators who sued the police department, saying they had been mistreated during a June 2020 racial justice protest that followed the killing of George Floyd. In a statement, the New York City Police Department said the demonstration occurred at a "challenging moment" when officers -already dealing with the strains of the COVID-19 pandemic - attempted to balance the right of people to protest with safety concerns. The total payments could amount to around $7 million, not including attorneys' fees, but a precise accounting was not yet available. Some of the protesters pursued individual claims and reached separate settlements, making them ineligible for additional payments, according to court filings.

☆ Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan is in jeopardy. Here are 4 major takeaways from the Supreme Court's oral arguments.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Biden's student-debt relief on Tuesday. The nation's highest court heard more than four hours of oral arguments in two high-profile cases that reviewed Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in debt for federal borrowers, which lower courts temporarily paused in November. "We're talking about half a trillion dollars and 43 million Americans," Chief Justice John Roberts said, referring to the estimated costs of Biden's plan and the number of affected borrowers. Justice Elena Kagan raised a hypothetical national emergency of an earthquake and the education secretary responded by deciding to cancel student loans for those harmed. Still, even if Barrett and the court's three liberals find that the states and borrowers lack standing, they would need another conservative vote to uphold Biden's debt relief.

☆ Thai activist sentenced to 28 years for online posts about king
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The court in the northern province of Chiang Rai found that Mongkhon Thirakot violated the lese majeste law in 14 of 27 posts for which he was arrested last August. The 42-year total prison term was reduced by one third, to 28 years, because of Mongkhon’s cooperation with the court. Prosecutions under the lese majeste law have recently drawn increased public attention because of a prison hunger strike by two female activists charged with the offense. The opposition Move Forward Party, which has been offering support, has proposed amending the lese majeste law, but no action has been taken in Parliament. “The entire Thai justice system has a problem and so does the enforcement of the lese majeste law, which is also used as a political tool.

☆ At least 5 Russian men who escaped conscription have been living in Seoul's airport for months, and their refugee status still hangs in the balance: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

At least five Russian men have been living in South Korea's Incheon airport for months. The men told The Post their lives are hanging in the balance: Seoul could still reject their asylum appeal. But I feel this conflict is extremely political," Maraktaev told The Post. Maraktaev then managed to get a flight to South Korea, and he finally landed in Incheon on November 12. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, most of the refugees given a humanitarian visa in South Korea are from Syria and Yemen.

Cassaundra Brownell, a self-described “serial entrepreneur” from Maryland, was relieved when she found the Justis Connection, a company that links potential clients with Black attorneys. Her case illuminates a point Black lawyers and advocates have been making for some time: Black clients feel that they receive heightened support and more favorable results from Black lawyers than with non-Black legal aid. And unlike Black lawyer associations like the National Conference of Black Lawyers and The National Black Lawyers, which some have relied on to find Black legal representatives in their cities, the Justis Connection specifically works on making those client-attorney connections. “And the thing about a Black attorney is that he or she would be much more relatable to Black clients,” Davidson said. But it’s probably not going to be the same.”However, even with connections being made, a significant problem still exists: There are not enough Black attorneys to address the needs of Black clients.

☆ Same-sex couples wary despite federal marriage rights bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

That prompted Democrats to act quickly to protect same-sex marriage while the party still holds the majority in both chambers of Congress. The Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act last week with support from 12 Republicans; it’s expected to easily win approval in the House before being signed by President Joe Biden. Ten years later, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a federal appeals court ruling that declared the state ban unconstitutional. The legislation wouldn’t codify, or enshrine into law, the Supreme Court decision requiring states to issue same-sex marriage licenses. “Is the Respect for Marriage Act good enough?

☆ Russia's parliament passes law banning 'LGBT propaganda' among adults
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Russia's parliament on Thursday passed the third and final reading of a law that expands an existing ban on promoting "LGBT propaganda" to children by banning it among people of all ages. The fine will be up to 400,000 roubles ($6,600) for individuals and up to 5 million roubles ($82,100) for legal entities. But human rights groups say the moves are designed to outlaw representation of minorities such as lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people (LGBT) in public life. LGBT Network, which offers legal aid, has called the legislation an "absurd" attempt to humiliate and discriminate against the LGBT community. TikTok, a video-sharing app, was fined 3 million roubles last month for promoting "videos with LGBT themes", while Russia's media regulator asked publishing houses to look at withdrawing all books containing "LGBT propaganda" from sale.

☆ 'Easy to bully': A corporate landlord in Cincinnati is aggressive in trying to evict tenants, critics say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Gretchen Morgenson | Gretchen Morgenson Is The Senior Financial Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. A Former Stockbroker | She Won The Pulitzer Prize In For Her | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +13 min

“We had the exact same story and the exact same company — VineBrook Homes,” Allen told NBC News. VineBrook Homes Trust Inc., which owns over 3,000 single-family homes in the Cincinnati area, is one of the most aggressive landlords in bringing eviction proceedings against its residents, they say. A big institutional owner of over 24,000 single-family homes in mostly lower-income areas, VineBrook Homes is a real estate investment trust (REIT) with properties in 18 states, including Alabama, Indiana, Missouri and Mississippi. “I left in Dec. 2021,” Jenkins told NBC News. Vinebrook Homes owns over 3,000 single-family homes in the Cincinnati area, including many in suburbs like North College Hill.

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