Nikki Haley Leaving U.N. Ambassador Position

Zach Gibson / Bloomberg / Getty Images

On Tuesday, the White House announced that Nikki Haley, the current U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and the former governor of South Carolina, has resigned and will leave the administration at the turn of the new year. Haley informed President Donald Trump of her decision about six months ago according to the president, though many White House senior officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, were caught by surprise (CNN). According to her resignation letter, Haley chose to step down due to fatigue from serving in public office and does not intend to run for office in 2020, opting instead to become a private citizen. Haley joins the 35 former White House and cabinet-level officials that have either resigned or been fired since the inauguration of President Trump in January 2017, though Haley left on good terms with the administration with Trump stating, “[s]he's done a fantastic job and we've done a fantastic job together” (CNN).

Haley is a significant departure for a few reasons. First, throughout her tenure, Haley was viewed more positively than her peers. She was a woman with Indian heritage in a mostly white male administration, had a reputation as a moderate in a White House that once contained Steve Bannon, and previously helped remove the Confederate battle flag from South Carolina’s State House while her coworkers face accusations of racism. In fact, according to a Quinnipiac poll from April of this year, her approval rating stood at 55% -- among Democrats. Her overall approval rating was high as well at 63%. Second, she consistently supported the president and even sat with him when her resignation was officially announced. Given her post and respected status as a public figure, chances are she increased the credibility of the administration domestically and internationally, and the successor Trump appoints will undoubtedly face a larger amount of scrutiny; Haley was confirmed by the Senate by a count of 96-4.

Sources:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-touts-big-announcement-nikki-haley/story?id=58382121

https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/10/09/politics/nikki-haley-resignation-letter/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww-m.cnn.com%2F2018%2F10%2F09%2Fpolitics%2Fnikki-haley-resignation%2Findex.html%3Fr%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252F

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/09/us/politics/nikki-haley-united-nations.html

https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/10/09/politics/nikki-haley-resignation/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/16/us/politics/all-the-major-firings-and-resignations-in-trump-administration.html

https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2538
https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/24/politics/nikki-haley-confirmation-vote-un-ambassador/index.html

FBI Begins Scope into Supreme Court Justice Nominee Kavanaugh

FBI Begins Scope into Supreme Court Justice Nominee Kavanaugh

Erin Schaff, The New York Times

     Following the hearing of Professor Christine Blasey Ford of Palo Alto University and Supreme Court Justice Nominee Brett Kavanaugh in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, it appeared as though Kavanaugh had secured the nomination with the vote to be held Friday morning. However, later on Friday afternoon GOP Senator Jeff Flake from Arizona withdrew his approval and asked for an FBI investigation into the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh.

     Given complaints from the Republican Party that the Democrats have been attempting to delay or slow the nomination process, there does not appear to be any political reason for Senator Flake to have supported an investigation. The Senator from Arizona cited the disconnect between parties as concerning, and he felt as though the investigation could help bring some unity to the discussion as opposed to the current status quo with Democrats absolutely against Kavanaugh while the Republicans support him unwaveringly. As he states, "[The Senate's] coming apart at the seams. There's no currency, no market for reaching across the aisle. It just makes it so difficult"(The Atlantic). Of course, there cannot be mention of Senator Flake's change of mind without reference to this impassioned confrontation at an elevator, in which two women Ana Maria Archila and Maria Gallagher lit into the Senator for his decision to support Kavanaugh. Although Senator Flake mentions "everything" as a reason for his sudden change, but I would definitely venture to say that that encounter played a major role.

     I certainly support the notion of having an investigation. For the reasons Senator Jeff Flake states, I believe it could go a long way into helping both parties be satisfied with the outcome. Even if nothing comes out of it, at least having an investigation could help Democrats be more accepting of Kavanaugh because their concerns were given a platform and considered. If Kavanaugh is found guilty, then it would help Republicans realize that 1) the accusations were not merely a smear campaign and 2) there would be serious repercussions for confirming him as a Justice. Because this investigation was based upon the allegations brought by Christine Blasey Ford, I'm not quite sure what will happen to the other two cases if this one results in no conviction. Although I hope the other two women would be given a fair opportunity to demonstrate the crimes done to them, I find it unlikely that Republicans will allow for another delay to the nomination.

Update:   
     Although President Trump initially tweeted out criticism for Democrats pushing against the limited scope of the investigation, it appears the White House has in fact cleared the FBI to perform a more thorough an investigation. The major change has been on the interviewable people as well as a haphazard investigation into Kavanaugh's drinking history. Originally, the probe did limit the potential interviewees to just the four people involved in this specific accusation, but now has been expanded to allow for the other accusers to corroborate stories. Furthermore, Kavanaugh's drinking history at Yale versus his representation of it may come into question, although as a result of the intertwined nature of drinking and sexual assault in Ford's case. Perhaps if not enough evidence was present from Ford's case alone, this expansion could shed new light on Kavanaugh's behavior with women and when drunk in general that could make Ford's story more believable.

Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/28/politics/anderson-cooper-flake-protester-cnntv/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/30/politics/fbi-brett-kavanaugh-investigation/index.html
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/09/24/brett-kavanaugh-allegations-timeline-supreme-court/1408073002/
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/09/flake-kavanaugh-interview/571735/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2018/09/27/kavanaugh-hearing-transcript/?utm_term=.110ec28177df
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/white-house-authorizes-fbi-expand-probe-kavanaugh-n915581
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-adds-to-confusion-over-scope-of-fbi-investigation-of-kavanaugh-accusations/2018/10/01/1aa5e922-c561-11e8-b1ed-1d2d65b86d0c_story.html?utm_term=.86bf1bc3e0e1

California Passes Net Neutrality Laws, To Face Lawsuit by DOJ

California Passes Net Neutrality Laws, To Face Lawsuit by DOJ

ROBYN BECK / AFP/Getty Images

     On Sunday, California governor Jerry Brown signed strict net neutrality regulations that goes against the Federal Communication Committee's ruling in December and return standards to what they were like during the Obama administration. The Department of Justice will file a lawsuit, claiming that California is undermining federal policy on what is a federal responsibility per Attorney General Jeff Sessions: "Under the Constitution, states do not regulate interstate commerce - the federal government does...Once again the California legislature has enacted an extreme and illegal state law to frustrate federal policy"(CNN).
   
     As you may know, a key event in the net neutrality process occurred last December of 2017, when the FCC under Chairman Ajit Pai voted to repeal laws passed in 2015 which prevented companies from being able to control download speed based on website and provided free access to all websites to the public. In addition to removing those laws, the FCC specifically passed a provision that would prohibit states from attempting to create individual regulations as to limit confusion on the companies' part. In spite of that, California has opted to try its hand at restoring net neutrality and the result remains to be seen.

     This topic most relates to the previous unit we just finished about federalism. Here, we see both a failure and success of the democratic process, where the federal policy does not accurately reflect the sentiment of the people, but a closer, more in tune state government understands the beliefs of its people and can implement such a law. Of course, there's also the negative aspect of duality in which  two different sets of regulations are in place, making it confusing on what the actual law is. Nevertheless, given the supremacy clause and the enumerated power of the federal government to regulate interstate commerce, I would predict that the Department of Justice will win the case and have California's law invalidated. However, as has been the case for a number of movements, perhaps this action by California will spark other states into enacting their own regulations, 22 of whose attorney generals have already been pushing to rescind the deregulation by the FCC.

Sources:
https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/30/technology/california-net-neutrality-law/index.html
https://www.cnet.com/news/californias-gold-standard-net-neutrality-becomes-law/
http://www.publicconsultation.org/united-states/overwhelming-bipartisan-majority-opposes-repealing-net-neutrality/
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-net-neutrality-california-legislation-20180827-story.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetwburns/2018/07/06/california-revives-stronger-net-neutrality-bill-after-public-backlash/#48ccade313ec

SEC Accuses Musk of "Misleading Tweets," Will Step Down as Chairman

SEC Accuses Musk of "Misleading Tweets," Will Step Down as Chairman

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

     On Thursday, the Security and Exchange Committee sued Tesla CEO Elon Musk for misleading investors through tweets in which he announced he had "secured funds" to take the company private (Horowitz, CNN). Following an uncertain few weeks in the stock market in which Tesla stock rose 9%,  the SEC concluded an investigation in which it determined Musk did not actually have the funds he claimed to (Horowitz, CNN), thereby leading to its lawsuit in which its demands that Musk forfeit his ability to serve as "officer or director of a public company" (Wattles, CNN). On Saturday, Musk agreed to step down as chairman but retain his position as CEO while paying a $20 million penalty (Wattles, CNN).

     The controversy stems from Musk's tweet on August 7 that he would take Tesla private at $420 per stock, with funding for the buyout already secured; let's explore what that really means. A public company is one that allows members of the public or other investors to buy and hold stock in the company, potentially leading to profits for those owners, as is the status quo for most companies such as Tesla. To make Tesla private, the company would announce a certain date on which they would buy back all the stock that was owned by the public, making it "private" because Tesla alone would possess stock in themselves. Of course, given the millions of shares out there for Tesla, buying them back would be a massive financial undertaking, but by tweeting "funding secured," Musk made it appear as though this was a legitimate possibility. This would lead to increases in the price of a stock because people would want to possess the stock given that Tesla would buy it back at $420 when, as of August 6 (the day before the tweet), the stock price was $341.99 (Google Finance). However, the SEC investigation determined that Musk did NOT have any funding to back up his claim, meaning he falsely manipulated stockholders into selling their shares to raise stock prices and therefore the company's value. 

     According to Musk, there were discussions with the Saudi Arabia Sovereign Wealth Fund that bought a 5% stake in the company worth between $1.9 billion and $3.2 billion (CNBC). Perhaps because of this, Musk considered privatization reasonable, but reports revealed that he had not had any discussion with other advisors before tweeting. Given Musk's recent appearance in the news for smoking marijuana during an interview, my first thoughts were that he was simply making a joke about that moment by setting the stock price at $420, a reference to the date 4/20 which is iconic for being "Weed Day." Nevertheless, as a very, very, very, very casual economic prediction, I would not see Tesla being impacted long-term by these events. Although it has garnered some negative publicity around the face of the company, I do believe that this has not affected the actual company's goals or production in any meaningful way, so despite the 11% drop in stock price, Tesla will be fine (Google Finance).

     Interestingly, Musk on Saturday reached an agreement with the SEC despite neither admitting or deny his accusations. As a part of this agreement, he will be allowed to still serve as CEO for Tesla, but can not hold his role as chairman nor run for a position again for 3 years (Wattles, CNN). Furthermore, Musk himself will also face a $20 million fine alongside an additional $20 million penalty levied upon Tesla. Although a Department of Justice investigation was also begun into Musk's activities, it is expected that the SEC prosecution will suffice as punishment and "[mitigate] the DOJ's incentive to act" (Wattles, CNN).

    For some professional analysis on potential reasons why Tesla may have wanted to go private, check out this article from CNBC.

Sources:

https://www.google.com/searchq=NASDAQ:TSLA&e=4112296&tbm=fin&biw=1403&bih=731#scso=_0xmxW9yqL9m60PEPl_es6Ac1:0

https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/27/technology/elon-musk-sec/index.html

https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/29/technology/business/elon-musk-tesla-sec-settlement/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/can-elon-musk-tweet-that-the-sec-may-have-an-opinion/2018/08/13/3717c0e2-9f39-11e8-a3dd-2a1991f075d5_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1012cd8e0208

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/07/tesla-shares-jump-on-report-saudi-arabia-sovereign-wealth-fund-has-2-.html

https://www.tesla.com/Blog/taking-Tesla-private%20

   

Trump admin proposes rule to block visas, green cards for those likely to use certain public benefits

Source: Claire Foran and Tal Kopan, CNN

Published Sunday, September 23, 2018

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/22/politics/trump-administration-immigration-public-benefits/index.html
This article covers a proposed rule that would force potential immigrants to prove their financial independence before being allowed residence in the United States. This means the blocking of visa or green card applications of those who are eligible for benefits available to the American public. It would also mean increased difficulty of legal status change, like from visa-holder to citizen. Applications for visas may be accepted, but ineligible for permanent citizenship. The Trump administration argues that the rule would lessen the burden on American taxpayers, while critics are sure that the new rule, if passed, would hurt the country in the long run. 
The policy of the Trump administration has always been to ensure that immigrants will not become a burden to America; however, there is strong argument that the rule discriminates families and

The opinion of several public figures, such as Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, has been published. She refers to the rule as an “attack on working class families” that prevents them from reaching the American Dream many of them are working towards, “before [they] even come here." Public opinion has not yet been polled, as the proposal was just released this week.

Personally, I believe that the rule is extremely discriminatory and is extremely ineffective, as immigrants are and always have been essential to the structure of our country's workforce. Trying to build a country from only the wealthiest residents and selectively building a society will never hold as a permanent social situation.

Judge rules Santa Rosa kindergartener can bring medical marijuana to school

(Kent Porter, Press Democrat)

Summary:

A Santa Rosa kindergartener can bring medical marijuana ointment to school to treat her rare form of epilepsy, judge ruled.

While minors may legally use medical marijuana in private with a doctor prescription, California law currently prohibits medical or recreational marijuana use within 1,000 feet of a school. Five-year-old Brooke Adams bringing medical marijuana to their public school violates this law, Rincon Valley School District authorities argued.

In August Judge Charles Marson issued a temporary order allowing a nurse to accompany Adams to school and apply her THC oil three times a day. The order was made permanent Friday, Sept. 21. District officials have not decided whether or not they will try to appeal.

The use of medical marijuana in schools has become a topic of legislative debate. The California State Assembly passed a bill in August that would allow parents to bring and administer prescribed medical marijuana for their children on school property, and the bill has been sent to Governor Jerry Brown. However, the Association of California Administrators opposed the bill, saying it would violate drug-free school zone requirements as marijuana is federally illegal substance.

Sources:

https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/what-to-know-about-the-bill-allowing-medical-marijuana-on-school-grounds/103-588462087

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=11362.3.&lawCode=HSC

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/8765336-181/judge-rules-santa-rosa-girl?artslide=5&slide=GAL&sba=AAS

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-cannabis-school-20180922-story.html

Hurricane Florence Continues to Destroy

 

Summary and Analysis:

Hurricane Florence continues to break records in the Carolinas for floods and destruction. Florence has already taken the lives of 42 people and has left thousands of homes underwater. This dramatic flooding has caused thousands to evacuate and leave their homes and cars.

Unfortunately, the majority of the deaths have occured in South Carolina and has left almost 500,000 people without power in North Carolina itself. Although that is terrible, there is another problem Hurricane Florence is creating in its wake: toxic waterways.

Due to the immense flooding in North Carolina, pig poop, coal ash(byproduct of coal processing) and human sewage are creating a toxic soup that is completely contaminating everything underwater. This includes the Cape Fear river. This massive waterway carries the toxic soup all across North Carolina and will have terrible consequences for farmers and disease control in the future.

Opinion:

There is a serious problem with treatment of waste in North Carolina which was mainly due to human inability to control their environmental protection and conservation. This will have drastic effects on the North Carolina landscape and organisms that make that home. Unfortunately for them, they will have to try and live through a time in which everything that is around them is toxic and will kill them. There will be lasting effects on the environment which will hopefully increase awareness for environmental protection and limitations. Even though the company responsible for the coal ash was fined $25 million in 2015 after they were found to be disregarding the Clean Water Act, they still weren’t done will repairs and reinforcement. This is also illustrating the disregard large companies have for the environment, which is often left out of the news as it is more thrilling to talk about the lasting effects of global warming instead of talking about the things actually causing them.

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-florence-flooding-north-south-carolina-virginia-death-toll-today-2018-09-20/

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/17/us/florence-monday-wxc/index.html

https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/7xjb4d/hurricane-florence-is-turning-north-carolina-into-a-toxic-stew-of-pig-poop-sewage-and-coal-ash

UK plans for Brexit stopped at Salzburg Summit

EU Leaders and Theresa May 

Summary:

The EU has come down to a answer to Theresa May's Chequers plan, a stern no. This intensifies the conflict within the UK over whether or not a hard border with Ireland is on the cards. The current leadership, mainly Conservative and Labour parties, have made it abundantly clear that Ireland will not acquire Northern Ireland while Brexit continues. Although the Chequers plan mainly highlights the continuation of the EU trade policy while allowing the UK to determine their own trade policy with the rest of the world, it also removes the EU’s immigration policy; removing the free flow of people from the rest of the EU. Ireland still remains a prominent pivot point in this debate. Both sides want to avoid having a hard border, which would cause many disputes regarding infrastructure and guard posts. Mrs. May has described how the Chequers plan is the only one that can both avoid conflict over trade with the EU and avoid the hard border with Ireland.

My opinion:

I have been following brexit since it was enacted in 2016. Unfortunately, exiting the EU is no small task. As it requires a majority of 65 percent of European countries to accept the withdrawl from the EU, it is a long and arduous process that can end in a few very undesired outcomes. This ultimately is due to how there is a deadline for the UK to protect themselves from leaving with “No Deal.” This would be terrible as it would end with the UK having no past treaties and economic deals with the EU, which would hurt both economies. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has been the most vocal about his distaste for this proposal, describing the English as “liars” for attempting to leave the EU before it could be completed. Unfortunately for Macron, Britain left for mainly economic reasons. This is due to how the UK lost £8.5 billion annually being part of the EU. If the French could for once accept the British, both countries could get along swimmingly. Regarding the EU, it is a financial powerhouse when it comes to GDP so the UK should hop on and get a deal as it would help both the EU and UK.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45596470

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/20/europe/brexit-salzburg-theresa-may-summit-intl/index.html

Three workplace shootings in 24 hours

Officer a scene of shooting at Rite Aid in Aberdeen, Maryland. (Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press)

Over a 24 hour span, there have been three workplace shootings: one at Rite Aid in Aberdeen, Maryland, one at a software company in Middleton, Wisconsin, and a municipal building in Masontown, Pennsylvania.

Aberdeen Rite Aid:

A 26-year-old woman open fired at a Rite Aid in Aberdeen, Maryland. The woman, Snochia Moseley, killed herself after, leaving four dead (three co-workers and the shooter) and several wounded. Moseley was a temporary Rite Aid employee, and, according to CBS, “got into an argument at work Thursday morning and began shooting colleagues.” However, authorities don’t have a motive yet. The gun used in the shooting was a 9 mm Glock handgun, which was registered to Moseley.

Middleton:

A 43-year-old employee open fired on his co-workers at WTS Paradigm (a software company). Four were wounded and three are in serious condition. Police shot and killed the man at the scene, but have not yet released his name. The man, who had worked for WTS for about a year and a half, was armed with a semi-automatic pistol and extra ammunition.

Masontown:

A man open fired and shot four people outside a judge’s office in the lobby of Masontown Borough Municipal Center.  The shooter, Patrick Dowdell, 61, was shot and killed by police on the scene. All four victims were taken to local hospitals and are in non-life threatening condition.

Dowdell was scheduled for a hearing on domestic violence the same day (Wednesday), but neither the judge nor any of the judge’s staff members were targeted.

An anecdote + my thoughts:

When trying to decide on a blog post, my mom said, “There was another shooting. How about that?” I went to go do some research and, much to my dismay, I couldn’t figure out which shooting she was talking about. That made me pause. It’s horrific, really. While each of these cases alone is awful, the fact that they all occurred within 24 hours is unbelievable. Shootings becoming a common thing. The fact that we say “another shooting” is disheartening.

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/20/us/maryland-shooting-aberdeen.html

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-harford-shooting-20180920-story.html

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-other-workplace-shootings-20180920-story.html

https://www.vox.com/2018/9/20/17882414/aberdeen-maryland-shooting-rite-aid-harford-county

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/us/masontown-shooting-judges-office.html