PUBLISHED ON JULY 30, 2019
Baltimore Is Spending $66M in Federal Grants This Year
By Joshua Caplan and Ezra Dulis
Baltimore Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young (D) said Monday that President Donald Trump should send federal assistance to the troubled Maryland city instead of criticizing its management — though the mayor’s budget is already spending $66 million in federal grants this year alone.
“If he really wants to, he needs to send us the federal assistance — not only to Baltimore, to cities around this country that are in the same situation that Baltimore is in — but he’s so interested in childish tweets,” Young (pictured) said in an interview with CNN New Dayco-host John Berman.
Young’s remarks follow a string of fierce criticisms from President Donald Trump directed at Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), whose district encompasses Baltimore. Over the weekend, the president blasted the 13-term congressman for the Maryland city’s worsening conditions, calling it a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” and a “very dangerous & filthy place.” He also said conditions in the city are “far worse” and than those at the U.S.-Mexico border detention centers.
“I mean, if you want to help us, help us. Don’t talk about it, send the resources we need to rebuild America,” Young stated. “He’s talking about he wants to ‘make American great again.’ Put the money in the cities that need it the most and that way you can make America great again.”
According to the official copy of the city’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget, Baltimore is already spending “$66.3 million in federal grants,” and its “federal fund operating appropriation is budgeted at $165.9 million.”
“In Fiscal 2019… the Federal government is providing a combined $30 million for the renovation of City streets, highways, and traffic engineering projects,” the document reads on page 185.
Several line items of “Federal Fund Appropriation” include $1 million for “general services,” $2.38 million for “Youth Violence Prevention,” $8.77 million for “Housing and Community Development,” and a whopping $29.19 million for “HIV Treatment Services for the Uninsured.”
The city’s budget was finalized under former mayor Catherine Pugh, who resigned just months ago amid a scandal alleging “self-dealing” arrangements, where entities seeking to do business with the city reportedly bought thousands of copies of a children’s book by Pugh to boost its sales numbers. Young, who was city council president at the time of her resignation, became acting mayor and will potentially face his first election for the position in 2020.
If President Trump were to send federal assistance to Baltimore, he would not be the first president to do so in the last decade. In 2009, Baltimore received $1.8 billion from then-President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) — however — the Democrat-controlled city has yet to see its fortunes turn around despite the massive investment.
As the Washington Free Beacon reported, the Obama administration allocated $1.8 billion of its 2009 stimulus to Baltimore. Of the investment, $26.5 million was aimed at crime prevention, $26 million to revitalize vacant buildings, and $9.5 million to tackle homelessness.
Despite receiving considerable aid, violence continues to plague Baltimore with homicides on track to pass 300 for the fifth consecutive year. A Breitbart News analysis of 2018 homicide rates shows Baltimore’s homicide rate, which stands at 51 per 100,000 residents, was, in fact, “higher than Honduras and nearly the same as in El Salvador.”
Video: On Eve of Debates, People in Detroit Struggle to Name Democrat Presidential Candidates
By Kristinn Taylor
Man-and-woman on the street interviews in Detroit done on the eve of this week’s two-night Democratic Party presidential debates show that even the front running candidates are not very well known among voters.
The interviews were conducted by Spectrum News reporter Lindsay Oliver and posted by Spectrum to Twitter. The debates, hosted by CNN, are airing Tuesday and Wednesday night with ten candidates each night.
In the video, Oliver holds up official photos of the candidates for people to identify. It does not go well for the candidates. However, it is not a total disaster for the Democrats as some voters do recognize more than one candidate and some know what the candidate they support looks like–even if they don’t know the candidate’s name.
Spectrum is providing all-day coverage of the debates.
Even leading candidate Joe Biden, former two-term vice president who served in the Senate for decades, goes unrecognized by a Democrat voter.
O’Rourke debate guests are black men who kneeled for anthem
By Errin Haines Whack
When Democrat Beto O’Rourke takes the stage in the second round of presidential primary debates on Tuesday, three young black men from Michigan who were inspired by ex-NFL player Colin Kaepernick to kneel during the national anthem before their high school football games will be in the audience as guests of the former Texas congressman.
O’Rourke reached out to ex-Lansing Catholic High School football players Michael Lynn III, Matthew Abdullah and RoJe Williams and spoke with them by phone last week. Teammate Kabbash Richards is away at college and unable to attend the debate.
O’Rourke, whose defense of NFL players who chose to take a knee to protest police brutality and racism went viral in 2018, learned of the men’s story and found them through “general local outreach,” his campaign said.
In a statement to The Associated Press on Monday, O’Rourke said the four “have served their community in one of the most American ways possible.”
As a Democratic primary candidate, O’Rourke has been outspoken on issues of race, particularly white identity and privilege. Earlier this month, he revealed that he and his wife, Amy, recently discovered they have ancestors who owned slaves.
As players at Lansing Catholic, the four took a knee together in 2017. Lynn, the team captain, said he decided to kneel after watching Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, and thinking about the racism he dealt with as one of a handful of black students at his high school.
“I was a senior. I was getting to the age where I wanted to say something,”said Lynn, who recalled trying to speak up when his white teammates would make inappropriate jokes or comments.
Lynn and his teammates were benched for their protest, and eventually Lynn and Abdullah transferred to other high schools.
It was nearly a year later that Lynn’s mother sent him the video of O’Rourke’s remarks, in which the then-Senate candidate explained to a mostly white crowd that Kaepernick’s protest was about focusing attention on the killings of unarmed black men by law enforcement.
“I can think of nothing more American than to peacefully stand up or take a knee for your rights anytime, anywhere or anyplace,” O’Rourke said to applause at an August 2018 campaign event that quickly went viral, thrusting the obscure O’Rourke into the national spotlight and propelling him to a 2020 presidential run.
Lynn recalled feelings of affirmation after watching the video.
“People on the other side of it make us feel like we’re not as American as them,” Lynn said. “The fact that he said that and feels that way, from his heart, that was really powerful. That’s what put Mr. O’Rourke on my radar.”
The three men have reached voting age and will meet O’Rourke for the first time Tuesday night.
Lynn said he is undecided about whom to vote for but looks forward to shaking O’Rourke’s hand and seeing all the candidates in person.
“That’s going to be cool,” Lynn said.
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This story has been corrected to show O’Rourke found the men through local outreach, not after one of their families donated to his campaign; the teammate’s name is spelled Kabbash, not Kabbalah; and the teammate was not on the phone call.
TWO SOMALI REFUGEES ARRESTED FOR PLANNING ISIS ATTACK INSIDE U.S.
FBI apprehends terrorists as they tried to board flight at Tucson International Airport
JULY 30, 2019
Two Somali refugees were arrested after the FBI uncovered a plot for them to join ISIS abroad or conduct an attack inside the United States.
“Ahmed Mahad Mohamed and Abdi Yemani Hussein, were arrested for conspiring to provide material support and resources to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization,” reports the DOJ.
Mohamed had obtained lawful permanent residency within the U.S. and Hussein remained a refugee.
The suspects had been in communication with an undercover FBI agent whom they thought was an ISIS supporter and had purchased airline tickets to travel to Egypt, with the intention to travel on to Sinai and join ISIS.
If they were unable to travel for any reason, the pair had planned to carry out an attack inside the United States.
FBI agents arrested the suspects right before they tried to board a flight at Tucson International Airport in Arizona.
President Trump tweeted about the arrests this morning, commenting, “Somali refugees arrested in Tucson on way to Egypt. They were in touch with an agent posing as a terrorist. One of them stated, “The best wake up call is Islamic State to get victory or another 9/11.” Get smart people!”
Companies people love to hate: World’s most despised corporations
Issues of privacy, user manipulation, and tax avoidance have turned public sentiment against big tech firms, once the darlings in the otherwise hated corporate world. But how quickly things change, as RT Business finds out.
One of the big five tech companies, Facebook has been buried by numerous scandals, from hacking to misappropriating user data and spreading hate speech. The company has agreed to pay a record-breaking $5 billion fine over privacy violations after allowing as many as 87 million users’ data to fall into the possession of political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. Facebook, along with other technology companies, has also been accused of unlawfully stifling competition in its rise to power.
Facebook agrees to pay record $5bn fine over privacy violations, critics call it a ‘parking ticket’
Bayer/Monsanto
Dubbed ‘a marriage made in hell,’ the mega-merger between German drug company Bayer and US GMO seeds and pesticides maker Monsanto created one of the most powerful agribusinesses in the world. Following the multibillion-dollar takeover, Bayer is now the target of some 18,400 lawsuits over Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer and its active ingredient glyphosate. The herbicide has allegedly caused grave illnesses such as cancer.
US judge cuts Monsanto cancer victims’ award from $2 billion to $86 million
Another former Silicon Valley darling from the ‘Gang of Four’ (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple), Google has also been engulfed in massive scandals. These include accusations of tax avoidance, misuse and manipulation of search results, unauthorized use people’s intellectual property, and the compilation of data which could violate user privacy.
Big Tech ‘monopolies’ targeted in sweeping new antitrust probe by US Justice Department
The tech giant has also been accused of trying to cover up a sexual misconduct scandal in the company. As the global hunt for tax avoiding firms intensifies, Google and other Big Tech companies are being targeted by countries including Spain and France, seeking to force the digital companies to pay more taxes in the markets where they operate.
Johnson & Johnson
In the healthcare industry there are few brands better known than the US drug company Johnson & Johnson. The maker of consumer staples ranging from Band-Aid bandages to baby shampoo has faced a number of controversies in its 133-year history. J&J knew about asbestos in its baby products since the 1970s and worked to conceal it from federal regulators and the public, investigations show.
Hidden ‘for decades’: Johnson & Johnson may have known about ‘carcinogens’ in baby powder since 1971
The pharmaceutical giant is facing thousands of lawsuits alleging that its baby powder product caused cancer, but it has always denied the allegations and insisted that the product is safe. After the latest revelations, the firm is now contesting claims that it has contributed to the opioid epidemic in the US.
JP Morgan
Despite the relatively low standards of the banking industry and the unpopularity of banks in general, JP Morgan has managed to outdo the competition to become the most despised. The largest financial institution in the US, with operations worldwide, the Wall Street bank is facing an onslaught of endless investigations and scandals.
READ MORE: JP Morgan, Barclays, RBS among big banks facing UK class action over Forex rigging
It is among the major global banks being sued by investors for rigging the global forex exchange (Forex) market. Its chief executive Jamie Dimon was awarded with $31 million in total compensation for his work in 2018. The pay exceeded his record compensation of $30 million in 2007 before the financial crisis.
JP Morgan cargo ship released, minus the $1.3 billion worth of cocaine found onboard
But the climax to all of this was last month’s unprecedented drugs bust after US federal authorities seized a cargo ship at the Port of Philadelphia belonging to a fund run by JP Morgan. After confiscating nearly 20 tons of cocaine on board worth $1.3 billion, authorities later released the vessel.
Other notable mentions:
Amazon
Nestle
Big Tobacco
Big Oil
Big Pharma
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