Maryland Gov. Moore and lawmakers propose more collaboration within juvenile justice system
Maryland’s top political leaders unveiled legislation Wednesday meant to increase accountability for juvenile offenders and the adults who run the juvenile justice system, which one leading lawmaker said was struggling in an “abundance of confusion” without meaningful oversight. Democratic Gov. Wes Moore gathered with leaders of the General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, to roll out the measure at a news conference. “We need accountability when someone repeatedly violates the law, yes, but we also need accountability for the adults and the systems responsible for preventing and responding to those situations,” Moore said. MUTINY ERUPTS AT JUVENILE HALL AS KIDS ARMED WITH SHANKS DEMAND ‘RIDICULOUS STUFF’ The governor said he believes the state needs to rethink how cases are processed for young people when there is a firearm involved, a key part of the legislation. “We need to increase probation when kids need more time to benefit from rehabilitation,” Moore said. A major part of the bill would expand the jurisdiction of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services to children under 13 for firearms-related offenses, car thefts, third-degree sexual offenses and animal abuse. The measure would also require documentation of youths taken into custody by police to eliminate gaps in information-sharing between law enforcement and the Department of Juvenile Services. It also includes provisions to ensure youths are participating in the rehabilitation process. “We’re going to increase the possible length of probation to ensure kids are receiving and participate in the rehabilitation that they need,” said Sen. Will Smith, a Montgomery County Democrat who chairs the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Del. Luke Clippinger, a Baltimore Democrat, said the measure also combines oversight boards in different agencies to bring together schools, law enforcement, the public defender, advocates for children, and kids who have gone through the system. “The collaboration that is missing in this system is unacceptable,” Clippinger, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said. “Everybody does just enough to check the box, but nobody does enough to coordinate with one another to look at the kids — the kids who are in the system and to figure out how we’re going to move them forward and how we’re going to rehabilitate those kids.” OVERCROWDED SLAMMER LEAVES JUVENILES IN SQUAD CARS FOR HOURS AS POLICE WAIT TO DROP THEM OFF: SOURCES Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, said that while youth offenders account for less than 10% of the crimes committed, concern around community safety and juvenile crime has risen in the past several years. “The simple truth is that the juvenile justice system in Maryland is not working optimally to provide the best outcomes for children and families,” Ferguson said. House Speaker Adrienne Jones said that juveniles in the system are not getting the services they need and that agencies aren’t sharing information with one another. She said “right now, there is no meaningful oversight of this process.” “Let me be clear, right now juvenile offenders and the services and accountability they need are separated by an abundance of confusion,” Jones, a Baltimore County Democrat, said. “Egos, political agendas and arguments over process have filled the gap. This is unacceptable. Juveniles need clear pathways to rehabilitation and a system of accountability.” Maryland Republicans described the measure as an encouraging step. “It is refreshing to see an acknowledgment that some of these recent juvenile justice reforms have gone too far,” said Del. Jason Buckel, the House minority leader from western Maryland. “Reinstating the Department of Juvenile Service’s jurisdiction over 10 to 12-year-olds found in the possession of firearms is an issue we championed last year and continue to advocate for.” But the measure brought swift criticism from Maryland Public Defender Natasha Dartigue, who pointed out that lawmakers approved a juvenile justice reform measure about two years ago “to correct Maryland’s rating as one of the worst human rights offenders for children in the criminal legal system.” Dartigue said the new measure’s overarching themes are to bring young children between 10 and 12 years of age into the juvenile court system, rather than respond with social services. She also criticized the bill for removing discretion in diverting children from arrest and prosecution and increasing reliance on probation and detention. “Ultimately, the impact of these proposals will be to incarcerate more children, specifically Black and brown children who statistically are catapulted into the juvenile and adult criminal legal systems more than other children,” Dartigue said in a statement.
Social media erupts over Dem staffer not being charged for Capitol Hill sex tape scandal: ‘Beyond parody’
Social media users quickly blasted the justice system after it was announced that a Democratic Senate staffer who filmed a pornographic sex scene in a Capitol Hill hearing room will not face charges. “Let me get this straight… merely walking through the capitol unauthorized is a felony,” Real Clear Investigations Senior Writer Mark Hemingway posted on X. “But having public sex in the building, filming it, and putting it online doesn’t merit a public lewdness charge?” “Please tell why I am supposed to respect rule of law in this country.” The U.S. Capitol Police announced on Thursday they have declined to press charges following the filming of a “sex video that was recorded inside the Hart Senate Office Building on the morning of Wednesday, December 13. SENATE SEX TAPE: CAPITOL HILL HEARING ROOM WHERE LEAKED VIDEO WAS RECORDED HOME TO SEVERAL HISTORIC EVENTS “After consulting with federal and local prosecutors, as well as doing a comprehensive investigation and review of possible charges, it was determined that — despite a likely violation of Congressional policy — there is currently no evidence that a crime was committed,” the agency said in a statement to Fox News. “The Congressional staffer, who has since resigned from his job, exercised his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and refused to talk to us,” authorities also said. “Our investigators are willing to review new evidence should any come to light.” A staff member for Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., was eventually fired over the video. “Jacob Chansley spent 310 days in solitary before he took a plea deal then was sentenced to 41 months in prison for saying a prayer in the Senate chamber,” author Julie Kelly posted on X. “It is officially legal to have recorded sex in US Senate hearing room,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton posted on X. NSFW: CAPITOL HILL ROCKED BY SEX TAPE SCANDAL FEATURING FAMOUS SENATE HEARING ROOM “OH COME ON,” Federalist Co-Founder Sean Davis posted on X. “Beyond parody,” GOP comms consultant Steve Guest posted on X. “Of course,” Newsbusters Managing Editor Curtis Houck posted on X. “Democrats can do just about anything without consequences.” Several legal experts, including George Washington University Law professor Jonathan Turley, weighed in at the time of the incident and said the staffer could be charged. In a blog post, Turley discussed possible charges that could be brought. Turley said, “the question is whether this unofficial use would constitute trespass.” “It also uses an official area for personal purposes, though it is not clear if there were any commercial benefits garnered from the video found on various sites,” Turley wrote. Turley said one possible charge could fall under D.C. code section 22-1312, which discusses lewd, indecent, or obscene acts. “It is unlawful for a person, in public, to make an obscene or indecent exposure of his or her genitalia or anus, to engage in masturbation, or to engage in a sexual act as defined in § 22-3001(8). It is unlawful for a person to make an obscene or indecent sexual proposal to a minor. A person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, imprisoned for not more than 90 days, or both,” the criminal code states. Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
Amrit Udyan opens for public on Feb 2, know how to book online tickets and other details
Amrit Udyan will be accessible to the general public from February 2 to March 31, 2024.
‘Denial of public mandate’: Congress questions delay in inviting Champai Soren to head govt in Jharkhand
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said this is yet another example of political injustice “for which the Prime Minister and Home Minister duo are considered experts”.
Stanley Aronoff, former Ohio Senate president, dies at 91
Stanley J. Aronoff, a Republican who spent nearly 40 years in the Ohio Legislature, including eight as the powerful Senate president, has died. He was 91. Aronoff died peacefully Wednesday evening, said Tina Donnelly, managing partner at the law firm Aronoff, Rosen & Hunt. “At the ripe old age of 91, he lived a good life,” she said. The Harvard-educated lawyer from Cincinnati was known as an artful negotiator for Republican interests at a time when Democrats controlled the Ohio House and, for part of his tenure, the governor’s office. He also championed public funding for the arts with legislation that endures today. JUDGE HALTS ENFORCEMENT OF OHIO LAW REQUIRING PARENTAL CONSENT FOR KIDS UNDER 16 TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA One example of Aronoff’s finesse with a deal involved a 1992 campaign finance bill. Democratic House Speaker Vern Riffe sent the legislation to the Senate with limits on individual campaign donations important to Republican candidates. Aronoff held up the bill in the GOP-dominated Senate until the House begrudgingly conceded to also limit contributions by labor unions, which were heavy givers to Democrats. “Stanley Aronoff was the carrot to Vern Riffe’s stick,” said Brian Perera, a former longtime Senate finance director. Aronoff and Riffe were the last powerful legislative leaders of Ohio’s pre-term-limits era, and both left under the cloud of an ethics scandal involving speaking fees that many viewed as emblematic of how strong the men had become. Both were caught up in the 1995 scandal, in which they accepted fees that were less than $500 from more than one source for speaking at the same event to get around a $500 fee limit, a maneuver called “pancaking.” Aronoff pleaded no contest to accepting $4,500 in fees from organizations tied to Ohio-based retailer The Limited. His community service sentence required him to lecture to student groups on ethics in government. With term limits looming, Aronoff opted not to seek what would have been his final term in 1996. He founded Aronoff, Rosen & Hunt and later worked as an attorney at Strategic Health Care, a consulting firm. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who served with Aronoff in the state Senate, said the Ohio Statehouse renovation, completed in 1996, was among projects he championed. “Stan was a driving force behind the restoration of the Ohio Statehouse, making sure that there was adequate funding and long-term vision to bring the Statehouse complex, including the Senate Annex, back to its original Greek-revival style with the functionality for use in the modern era,” he said in a statement expressing condolences to Aronoff’s family. Aronoff began his Statehouse career as in 1961 as a state representative, moving later to the Senate. He ran unsuccessfully for state attorney general in 1974 and for Congress in 1978. He was chairman of the Council of State Governments, a nonpartisan policy and advocacy group, in 1996. NEW OHIO LAW REQUIRES COACHES TO GET MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING TO HELP STUDENT ATHLETES: ‘SUPPORT OUR KIDS’ An aficionado of music, theater and fine arts, the dapper and always finely coiffed Aronoff spearheaded Ohio’s Percent for Art law. The law, which took effect in 1990, requires that all new and renovated public buildings that cost more than $4 million must dedicate 1 percent of spending to acquiring, commissioning or installing works of art. Aronoff’s commitment to the arts is one of the reasons the downtown Columbus skyscraper named for Riffe houses an art gallery and two theaters, Perera said. “There’s a reason the Riffe building is the Riffe Center for Government and the Arts,” he said. There are two arts centers named for Aronoff, one in downtown Cincinnati and one on the main campus of the University of Cincinnati. The biological sciences lab at the Ohio State campus in Columbus also bears his name.
Fatal Ohio crash prompts training, new safety features for school bus drivers
After a deadly school bus crash last summer, a task force convened by Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recommended Wednesday more training, driver benefits and safety features — but not a seat belt mandate. How and when safety upgrades are made would be up to individual school districts, DeWine said at an event releasing the Ohio School Bus Safety Working Group’s final report. He said his office has begun discussions with the Legislature about establishing a grant fund to help school districts pay for vehicle upgrades or new safety-enhanced buses. DeWine created the working group in August, after a school bus crash in Clark County’s Lawrenceville, about 55 miles southwest of Columbus, left one child dead and 23 others injured. SIX DEAD, 15 INJURED IN OHIO CRASH INVOLVING BUS CARRYING BAND STUDENTS “We know that buses are the safest way to transport children to school; that remains true,” he said Wednesday. “But when we have a tragedy like this, I think it’s important for us to reexamine what we can do to make the trips that our kids are taking, and grandkids are taking, as safe as we can.” The working group issued 17 recommendations. Sixteen related to bus driver recruitment and retention, training and education, school bus safety features, road and traffic safety, and emergency response. Ohio Public Safety Director Andy Wilson said the group stopped short of recommending that the state mandate that all school buses have seat belts, instead leaving the decision to individual school districts. OHIO FATAL BUS CRASH UNDER INVESTIGATION BY THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD “As a group — after hearing form the experts, hearing from our bus drivers, looking at the data or the lack of data from states that have mandated seat belts, and listening to the school districts who have tried pilot programs on their buses — we became convinced that the statewide mandate of seat belts on buses is not the most effective use of government resources to keep our kids safe,” he said. Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Director Stephen Dackin said adding seat belts to a bus costs about $19,000. By contrast, the other twelve safety features the group recommended — including collision avoidance systems, electronic stability control, lighted crossover mirrors and fully illuminated stop arms at the front and rear — would cost about $13,000 per bus. The final recommendation, involving commercial bus services, addressed a second Ohio bus crash that took place even as the task force was working. In that November accident, a charter bus of high school students was rear-ended by a semi truck on an Ohio highway, killing six and injuring 18. To address private buses, the working group recommended that school districts adopt policies requiring “thorough evaluation of contracted commercial bus services.” For public school bus drivers, the group recommended that the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce develop a uniform training curriculum, as well as a regional advanced training program, and that Ohio require six hours of training for drivers each year. The grant program DeWine has in mind would allow the state to offer the training to school districts at no cost, he said. OHIO SCHOOL BUS CRASH LEAVES STUDENT DEAD, AT LEAST 23 HURT ON FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL Other recommendations include improved access to professional development, wellness support and regular performance reviews for bus drivers, expanded engagement with parents and the public, school zone and bus route safety audits, and enhanced penalties for drivers of other vehicles who violate traffic laws in school zones or around school buses. According to state data, between 2018 and 2023, the other driver was at fault in 68% of school bus crashes involving minor injuries, in 80% of crashes involving serious injuries; and in 75% of crashes involving fatalities. DeWine said about 13,000 school buses are operating in Ohio at this time, but school districts typically don’t replace them all at once, but perhaps at a pace of one or two a year. New buses run about $120,000, Dackin said.
Defense Sec. Austin apologized directly to Biden over hospitalization controversy: ‘Did not handle this right’
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that he apologized directly to President Biden for not giving advance notice about his hospitalization for prostate cancer treatment. “I want to be crystal clear. We did not handle this right and I did not handle this right,” Austin said at a Pentagon press briefing on Thursday. “I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public, and I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people.” “I want to make it very clear that there were no gaps in authorities and no risk to the department’s command and control,” he insisted, addressing concern about who was in control at the Department of Defense during a time of heightened tension in the Middle East. Austin returned to the Pentagon for the first time since his hospitalization on Monday – just a day after a drone strike by Iran-backed militants killed three U.S. service members and injured at least 40 others in Jordan at a post near the Syrian border. “At every moment, either I or the deputy secretary was in full charge,” Austin said. “And we’ve already put in place some new procedures to make sure that any lapses in notification don’t happen in the future if the deputy secretary needs to temporarily assume the duties of my office. She and several White House officers will be immediately notified, including the White House Situation Room, and so will key officials across the department. And the reason for that assumption of duties will be included in writing.” WHITE HOUSE ESTABLISHES GUIDELINES FOR CABINET NOTIFICATIONS FOLLOWING AUSTIN’S HOSPITALIZATION CONTROVERSY Austin also said he apologized to Biden after the matter. “As a rule, I don’t talk about conversations with my boss, but I can tell you I have apologized directly to President Biden and I’ve told him that I’m deeply sorry for not letting him know immediately that I received a heavy diagnosis and was getting treatment,” he said. “And he has responded with a grace and warm heart that anyone who knows President Biden would expect. And I’m grateful for his full confidence in me.” Austin rejected the notion that he would resign over the controversy. Fox News’ national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin noted that during the time that Austin was in the intensive care unit, there was a drone strike carried out against an Iraqi leader of a militia. “Do you regret that the authorities were not clear at that point? And what can you explain about what was going through your mind at that time?” Griffin asked during the press conference. “And then separately, there’s been a lot of telegraphing about targeting and responding to the drone strike, so much so that the Iranian proxy leaders have left the country. Some are back in Tehran. Has there been too much telegraphing or is the point not to kill any Iranian commanders?” Austin said the strike “was planned and I had made recommendations to the president on actions that we should carry out.” “President made a decision. And based upon that decision, authorities were pushed down to the Central Command commander. And as you know, a strike like that, you can’t pick the precise time when that strike is going to take place. You want to minimize collateral damage. You want to make sure that you have everything right. And so the subordinate commander had the controls on that particular strike. So I was very much involved in the planning and the recommendation for that. And we knew that that would take place within a matter of days.” “In terms of telegraphing about strikes and whether or not people leave or what they left,” Austin said he would not speculate but said the U.S. vows a “multi-tiered response.” Austin denied he created what another reporter called a “culture of secrecy” at the department. DOJ SAYS MERRICK GARLAND TO TRANSFER POWER DURING UPCOMING BACK SURGERY AFTER BIDEN DEFENSE DEPT CONTROVERSY The secretary explained that he had a “minimally invasive procedure” on Dec. 22, 2023, to treat his recently diagnosed prostate cancer. Unexpectedly, he said he felt severe pain in his leg, abdomen and hip on Jan. 1, and that evening an ambulance took him to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where doctors found he needed treatment for several issues, including a bladder infection and abdominal problems. On Jan. 2, Austin recalled how he was also experiencing a fever, chills and shallow breathing, so medical staff transferred him to the critical care unit for several days for closer monitoring and better “team care by my doctors.” “The deputy secretary assumed the functions and duties of my office, which happens when necessary,” he said. “Her senior staff, my senior staff and the Joint Staff were notified of this through our regular email notification procedures, and I never directed anyone to keep my January hospitalization from the White House.” Austin said he resumed his functions and duties as secretary from the hospital on Jan. 5. “I was functioning well mentally, but not so well physically. And so I stayed at Walter Reed for additional time for additional treatment, including physical therapy, for some lingering issues with my leg,” he said. “Now, I’m offering all this as an explanation and not an excuse. I am very proud of what we’ve achieved at the department over the past three years, but we fell short on this one.” The Pentagon said Austin was released from Walter Reed on Jan. 15. Austin on Thursday also said he missed an opportunity to speak about an important health issue, one that especially impacts the Black community. “I was diagnosed with a highly treatable form of cancer, a pretty common one. One in eight American men will get prostate cancer. One in six Black men will get it,” he said. “And so I’m here with a clear message to other men, especially older men. Get screened, get your regular
Hezbollah explained | Start Here
Start Here What is Hezbollah, and how is it linked to the Israel-Gaza war? Read more The war in Gaza has reignited the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, an armed group based in Lebanon. How did Hezbollah emerge? How powerful is it? And how is Hezbollah connected to Iran? Start Here with Sandra Gathmann explains. Published On 1 Feb 20241 Feb 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
UN experts condemn ‘disturbing’ attacks on journalists in Gaza
Officials suggest the targeting of journalists may be a ‘deliberate strategy by Israeli forces’ to silence reporting. United Nations experts have condemned the deadly attacks on journalists and media workers in Gaza, calling on Israel to allow journalists to enter the besieged territory and to ensure their protection. In a statement released on Thursday, the experts described the war on Gaza as the “most dangerous conflict for journalists in recent history”. “We have received disturbing reports that, despite being clearly identifiable in jackets and helmets marked ‘press’ or travelling in well-marked press vehicles, journalists have come under attack, which would seem to indicate that the killings, injury, and detention are a deliberate strategy by Israeli forces to obstruct the media and silence critical reporting,” they said. The experts included Irene Khan, UN rapporteur on free expression; Francesca Albanese, UN rapporteur on Palestine; and Morris Tidball-Binz, UN rapporteur on extrajudicial killings. Citing UN reports, the statement said more than 122 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since the outbreak of the war. Four Israeli journalists were killed during the October 7 attack, and three Lebanese journalists have been killed in Israeli shelling. “We pay special tribute to the courage and resilience of journalists and media workers in Gaza who continue to put their own lives on the line every day in the course of duty, while also enduring enormous hardship and tragic loss of colleagues, friends and families in one of the bloodiest, most ruthless conflicts of our times,” the experts said. The UN officials underscored the case of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh, whose wife Amna, son Mahmoud, daughter Sham and grandson Adam were killed in an Israeli air raid in October. Dahdouh was later wounded in an Israeli drone attack that killed his colleague, Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abudaqa. Last month, his eldest son, Hamza – a journalist who worked with Al Jazeera – was killed in an Israeli attack alongside fellow journalist Mustafa Thuraya. “Journalists are entitled to protection as civilians under international humanitarian law. Targeted attacks and killings of journalists are war crimes,” the UN experts said. They called for impartial investigations into the killing of journalists. Press freedom groups have warned about the apparent targeting of journalists in Gaza. Beyond the killing of journalists, media workers across the occupied Palestinian territories have been subject to increased attacks and crackdowns by Israel over the past few months. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based watchdog, 25 journalists have been arrested in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October 7. Others suffered “assaults, threats, cyberattacks and censorship”, the group says. Attacks on journalists in Gaza come amid the broader violence against the Palestinian territory. UN officials and aid groups have said that the conflict has been one of the most destructive in modern times. Israel has killed more than 27,000 Palestinians since October 7, flattening much of the territory as it pushes on with its military offensive. “The wholesale destruction of Gaza and the number of civilian casualties in such a short period are totally unprecedented during my mandate,” UN chief Antonio Guterres said last month. Adblock test (Why?)
UN rights chief decries death of 50 people in Mali attacks
The UN official said he was ‘appalled’ by the killings in central Mali. The UN rights chief on Thursday said he was “appalled” by alleged summary executions of 25 people by Mali’s army and “foreign military personnel” last week in a region plagued by violence from armed groups. Volker Turk also expressed alarm at the killing of approximately 30 others in attacks over the weekend in central Mali, a particular hotbed of violence. “I am appalled by credible allegations that Malian armed forces accompanied by foreign military personnel summarily executed at least 25 people in Welingara village, in the central Nara region on 26 January,” Turk said in a statement. “I am also alarmed by reports that about 30 civilians were killed in attacks by yet unidentified gunmen on two other villages – Ogota and Oimbe – in the Bandiagara region over this past weekend,” he added. Gathering and verifying information in Mali is made difficult by the country’s vast geography, deteriorating communications infrastructure and security concerns. Rebel violence that started in northern Mali in 2012 spread to the centre of the country in 2015, when Katiba Macina – an al-Qaeda-affiliated group – was established, led by the Fulani hardline preacher Amadou Kouffa. West Africa recorded more than 1,800 attacks in the first six months of 2023, resulting in nearly 4,600 deaths and creating dire humanitarian consequences. According to an ECOWAS top regional official, this was just “a snippet of the horrendous impact of insecurity”. Mali is currently led by a military government that seized power in 2020 and turned away from former colonial power France, before pushing the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA to leave at the end of 2023. The government has chosen instead to pivot towards Russia, both politically and militarily. This January, it announced its withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), alongside Burkina Faso and Niger, which are also led by their militaries. The regional bloc has been central in condemning and imposing sanctions on the trio after the takeovers. France once had a strong presence across the Sahel, but announced the withdrawal of its troops from the three countries after the coups. Many observers have claimed Mali has enlisted the services of Russian mercenaries, despite frequent Malian denials. The UN and local sources have regularly accused the Malian army and its allies of abuses against civilians, which Mali has also categorically denied. UN rights investigators and groups like Human Rights Watch said that Malian troops and foreign forces – presumed to be Wagner – were behind the massacre of at least 500 people in the central Malian town of Moura in March 2022. “It is essential that all allegations of arbitrary deprivations of life, including summary executions, are fully and impartially investigated and those found responsible brought to justice in trials observing international standards,” the UN rights chief said Thursday. To date, none of the investigations launched in Mali into abuses by the military has been successful. Adblock test (Why?)