ACLU sues Homeland Security; US Soccer Federation has 'ridiculous argument'; Facebook, Twitter remove Russia-linked fake accounts; U.S. retaliates in Iraq + What Just Happened
NewsHero - March 13, 2020 - Issue 54
Welcome! This edition of NewsHero for March 13, 2020, is a free-for-all! Yes, for subscribers and first-timers alike, this one is free for all.
At NewsHero we put the heroes in the headlines and give them the attention in our coverage that they deserve. Here you’ll find the same high priority news, but you’ll get it without clickbait and it won’t be driven by ad sales. You’ll also get it with the focus on those who are helping, not causing harm.
Our heroes are identified as follows:
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - the hero, hands down. - Meaning that it wasn’t even a close call.
🦸♀️🦸♀️ - the hero, but… - Meaning that in this situation the call needed to be looked at in a little more detail. For example, in this case, they did the right thing but there have been some questionable calls in the past.
🦸♀️ - the hero, but only here, and it was a close call. - Meaning that in this instance they did the right thing but it was either out of character or a maddeningly close call.
We love feedback. Whether it’s about our choice of hero or anything else, feel free to let us know what you think here.
As always, thank you for your support as we strive to grow as an independent news source so we can offer more for our readers.
Please share us with anyone you think might like what we do—or might need another perspective.
NewsHero Notes
American Civil Liberties Union - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
The ACLU filed a lawsuit against Homeland Security Thursday, claiming the agency is keeping the details of its airport face recognition program secret, which it says raises “profound civil liberties concerns,” TechCrunch reported.
Letitia James - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
The Washington Times reported that New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office sent a cease-and-desist letter Thursday to conspiracy monger Alex Jones, demanding he stop hawking phony coronavirus treatments. The letter Thursday said James was “extremely concerned” by Jones’ claims that toothpaste, dietary supplements, creams, and other products sold on his website can prevent and cure the virus.
Corona Daily - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
We’re including here the latest Corona Daily edition for up-to-date news on the COVID-19 outbreak, along with a mention that signaling further improvements to conditions in China, Apple is re-opening all 42 of its branded stores there today after more than a month of being closed down.
Afternoon Brief
USWNT - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Following a gender discrimination lawsuit filed by the US Women's National Team against the US Soccer Federation in March 2019 over equal pay, the federation said in court documents that male players have “more responsibility” and the men's team “requires a higher level of skill” than their female counterparts.
“This ridiculous ‘argument’ belongs in the Paleolithic Era. It sounds as if it has been made by a caveman,” Molly Levinson, a spokeswoman for the women's national team, told CNN Sports. “Literally everyone in the world understands that an argument that male players ‘have more responsibility’ is just plain simple sexism and illustrates the very gender discrimination that caused us to file this lawsuit to begin with. So, looking forward to trial on May 5.”
Facebook and Twitter - 🦸♀️
Facebook and Twitter said on Thursday they had taken down a network of Russian-linked fake accounts operated out of Ghana and Nigeria which targeted the U.S. The network, removed from Facebook and Instagram for engaging in foreign interference, was in the early stages of building audiences and was operated by local nationals on behalf of individuals in Russia.
The accounts managed Facebook pages posing as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or personal blogs. They focused on topics such as black history, black excellence and fashion, celebrity gossip, U.S. news and LGBTQ issues. They also shared negative content about oppression and police brutality.
Twitter characterized the accounts as “attempting to sow discord by engaging in conversations about social issues, like race and civil rights.”
In a statement on Thursday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said, “The potential use of cutouts on another continent meant to mask Russian connections is a startling signal that our adversaries continue to pursue new and inventive ways to cover their tracks and evade detection.”
U.S. Military - 🦸♀️🦸♀️
The U.S. retaliatory airstrikes against militants in Iraq destroyed five weapons depots, but the top U.S commander for the Middle East acknowledged Friday that there are many similar sites that the U.S. has so far not hit because of potential civilian casualties and political sensitivities with the Iraqi government.
Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie said the U.S. decision to target the Iranian-backed Shiite militia group that killed American and British troops in a rocket attack this week sends a strong message to Iran and its proxies. But he said that as the threat of continued attacks remains high and tensions with Iran have not gone down, the U.S. is beefing up military assets in the region.
Iraq’s military said five security force members and a civilian were killed in the U.S. airstrikes Friday.
What Just Happened
A look back at this week’s stories
Monday
All women (and their advocates) - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Women filled the streets of the world’s largest cities Sunday to protest gender violence and inequality on International Women’s Day, with the mothers of murdered girls leading a march in Mexico City and participants in Paris inveighing against the “virus of the patriarchy.”
While many protests were peaceful celebrations others were marred by tension, with security forces arresting demonstrators at a rally in Kyrgyzstan and police reportedly using tear gas to break up a demonstration by thousands of women in Turkey.
In Pakistan, women managed to rally in cities across the country, despite petitions filed in court seeking to stop them. The opposition was stirred in part by the controversy over a slogan used in last year’s march: “My Body, My Choice.” Other slogans used included “My body is not your battleground” and “Stop being menstrual phobic”.
While marches in many cities were peaceful, Islamists in Islamabad pelted campaigners with stones, shoes, and sticks as they marched through the country’s capital on Sunday. Police official Mazhar Niazi said the officers blocked the Islamists as they tried to break through a cordon to attack the marchers.
Tuesday
Zalmay Khalilzad and peace negotiators - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
The United States began withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, the U.S. military said today, taking a step forward on its peace deal with the Taliban while also praising Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s promise to start releasing Taliban prisoners after he had delayed for over a week.
The U.S.-Taliban deal signed Feb. 29 was touted as Washington’s effort to end 18 years of war in Afghanistan. The next crucial step was to be intra-Afghan talks in which all factions including the Taliban would negotiate a road map for their country’s future.
But Ghani and his main political rival, Abdullah Abdullah, were each sworn in as president in separate ceremonies Monday. Abdallah and the elections complaints commission had charged fraud in last year’s vote. The dueling inaugurations have thrown plans for talks with the Taliban into chaos, although Ghani said Tuesday that he’d start putting together a negotiating team.
Ghani had been dragging his feet on releasing some 5,000 Taliban prisoners, something agreed to in the U.S.-Taliban deal. Ghani promised Monday to announce a decree to free the prisoners after the U.S. and a number of foreign dignitaries appeared to back his claim to the presidency by sending their representatives to his inauguration.
The disarray on the Afghan government side is indicative of the uphill task facing Washington’s peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad as he tries to get Afghanistan’s bickering leadership to come together. In an early Tuesday tweet, Khalilzad said he hoped the two leaders can “come to an agreement on an inclusive and broadly accepted government. We will continue to assist.”
Over the weekend, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said the insurgent group was committed to its agreement with the U.S. and called on Washington to do its part to make sure its prisoners were freed.
Wednesday
Judges on the federal appeals court panel - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
A three-judge panel in a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Justice Department must give Congress secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, The Associated Press reported today. The panel said in a 2-1 opinion that the House Judiciary Committee’s need for the material in its investigations of Donald Trump outweighed the Justice Department’s interests in keeping the testimony secret. The opinion authorizes access to information that Democrats have sought since the conclusion of Mueller’s investigation, enabling lawmakers to review previously-undisclosed details from the two-year Russia probe.
Writing for the majority, Judge Judith Rogers said that with Mueller himself having “stopped short” of reaching conclusions about Trump’s conduct to avoid stepping on the House’s impeachment power, the committee was able to persuasively argue that it needed access to the underlying grand jury material to make its own determinations about the president’s actions.
“Courts must take care not to second-guess the manner in which the House plans to proceed with its impeachment investigation or interfere with the House’s sole power of impeachment,” Rogers wrote, calling the committee’s request for the grand jury material “directly linked to its need to evaluate the conclusions reached and not reached by the Special Counsel.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the ruling a rejection of the president’s “insistence that he is above the law” and a further rebuke to Attorney General William Barr. Last week, another federal judge scolded Barr in a separate case for what he said were misleading public statements by the attorney general about Mueller’s findings.
Thursday
Rights activists and asylum seekers - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Rights activists and asylum seekers are challenging a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to leave in effect a Trump administration policy that requires thousands of people seeking asylum at the southern border to wait in Mexico while their claims are adjudicated.
The court granted an emergency request filed by the administration and lifted a partial block on the program imposed by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court on Feb. 28 issued a ruling blocking the policy but then immediately put it on hold while the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene.
The brief court order noted that one of the nine justices, liberal Sonia Sotomayor, would have denied the application.
“Asylum seekers face grave danger and irreversible harm every day this depraved policy remains in effect,” said Judy Rabinovitz, a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents those challenging the policy.
Challengers, including 11 asylum seekers who were returned to Mexico and several immigration advocacy groups, say the program, called the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), violates U.S. immigration law and international obligations on the treatment of asylum seekers.
Sources:
Apple says reopening all its branded stores in China - Reuters
We are not sheep - Corona Daily
ACLU sues Homeland Security over airport face recognition program secrecy - TechCrunch
Alex Jones issued cease-and-desist over coronavirus ‘cures’- Washington Times
In Quest to Win Equal Pay Case, U.S. Soccer Belittles USWNT Players - Sports Illustrated
U.S. Soccer chief apologizes for 'offense and pain' as USWNT protests - ESPN
US Soccer claims it won't pay women equally because being a male player requires more skill - CNN
Facebook, Twitter dismantle Russian interference campaign targeting African Americans - The Hill
Facebook, Twitter Remove Russia-Linked Accounts in Ghana Targeting U.S. - Moscow Times
Facebook, Twitter suspend Russian-linked operation targeting African Americans on social media - Washington Post
US general: US strikes destroy weapons depots, more remain - AP News
Iraq army says US strikes kill 5 security forces, 1 civilian - AP News
Iraq Says U.S. Strikes Killed Soldiers, Police and One Civilian, Wounded Iran Allies - Newsweek
U.S. counters Iraq’s condemnation of U.S. airstrikes on Iran-backed militia facilities - Washington Post
Women fill streets of world’s cities with call for justice - AP News
Mexico's women are going on strike. - Washington Post Instagram
Pakistan's Women's March: Shaking patriarchy 'to its core’ - Al Jazeera
Islamists hurl stones and shoes at Women's Day marchers in Pakistan - Reuters
Happy International Women’s Day - ACLU Instagram
US troops begin Afghanistan withdrawal as part of peace deal with Taliban - Fox News
Trump's peace deal with the Taliban fails again — and this time Republicans take notice - Salon
Overnight Defense: US begins Afghanistan drawdown - The Hill
US starts pulling troops from Afghanistan as part of peace deal with Taliban - USA Today
US starts troop pullout, seeks end to Afghan leaders’ feud - AP News
Court: House entitled to Mueller probe grand jury testimony - AP News
Democrats should get Mueller evidence, judges rule - Politico
Justice Department must disclose secret Mueller grand jury evidence to Congress, appeals court finds - Washington Post
Appeals court upholds ruling allowing House Dems to obtain secret Mueller probe grand jury materials - Fox News
House wins access to Mueller grand jury details, appeals court rules - CNN
U.S. Supreme Court allows Trump's 'Remain in Mexico' asylum policy - Reuters
U.S. Supreme Court Allows 'Remain In Mexico' Program To Continue - NPR
Supreme Court Again Backs Trump Administration On Asylum Seekers - The Federalist
Supreme Court Revives ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy for Asylum Seekers - NY Times
US Supreme Court lets 'Remain in Mexico' asylum policy stay in place - CNN