HRW report reveals plight of El Salvador deportees; Romney votes to impeach, Iowa results are in, Kushner complaint; 50 women denounce Trump's behavior, billions of nets + 'Bag Full of Prison'
Welcome to today’s edition of NewsHero for Wednesday, February 5, 2020.
We hope you’ve been liking the new daily version of our newsletter. We’ve been liking putting each one together, discussing in editorial meetings what to include and how to deliver it (and just who the hero of the story might be).
We’ve opted to stick with a consistent layout: two quick mentions called NewsHero Notes, followed by three items for our Afternoon Brief. Next there’s one story that we go a wee bit deeper with, then the Extra! Extra! we end with, which serves as an editorial space where sometimes we have a bit of fun.
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Team NewsHero
NewsHero Notes
According to the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, two billion mosquito nets have been delivered worldwide since 2004. RBM Partnership praised The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) for providing 1.13 billion and 400 million nets respectively.
Fifty women in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a scathing letter to President Donald Trump last week to denounce what they called his “continuing derogation of women” in his “rhetoric and policies.” The letter from the Democratic Women's Caucus read: “It is most shameful that the words young girls and boys hear directed at women from the upper echelons of power are dripping with disdain and disrespect.”
Afternoon Brief
Impeachment
The Justice Department has released another 300 pages of notes from major witness interviews in Robert Mueller's investigation. Even as Donald Trump is expected to be acquitted today, there’s still plenty to talk about surrounding his impeachment trial. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler says the House expects to continue its investigations into Trump's conduct after today, and will likely subpoena John Bolton. Sen. Mitt Romney announced that he was breaking with his Republican party and voting for impeachment. And Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin urged his colleagues to formally censure President Trump, saying that he’s struggling over which way to vote.
Iowa Caucus
The Iowa Democratic Party released partial results of its presidential caucus after a one-day delay late Tuesday, with Pete Buttigieg showing a slight lead over Bernie Sanders. Sidenote: while the caucus debacle created a stir, it’s the votes and the results that matter, not the controversy or the conspiracy theories. The reporting mishap was a prime example of sensational news coverage designed for a public that’s all too eager for scandal and drama, making a small issue a big story. The results are now coming in, better late than never. Crisis averted.
Ethics in Washington
Watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has filed a Hatch Act complaint against senior White House adviser (and Donald Trump’s son-in-law) Jared Kushner, following an interview with CNN in which Kushner talked about how the Senate's impeachment trial has benefited the president politically. “Kushner's blatantly political behavior while acting in his official capacity is a clear violation of the Hatch Act,” said CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder.
HRW Report Reveals Hundreds Sent From US To El Salvador Killed, Abused
‘Deported to Danger’ exposes cases leading to abuse and death
A Salvadoran migrant who was deported from the United States carries his daughter Jan. 8 as they leave the Integral Assistance Center for Migrants in San Salvador. (Jose Cabezas/Reuters)
Human Rights Watch released a report today revealing that hundreds of people deported to El Salvador from the U.S. in recent years were subsequently killed and abused.
The report, “Deported to Danger: United States Deportation Policies Expose Salvadorans to Death and Abuse,” identifies cases of 138 Salvadorans who, since 2013, were killed after deportation from the U.S., and more than 70 others who were abused by gangs, former intimate partners, and Salvadoran police or security personnel.
The new report comes at a time when the Trump administration is making it more difficult for Central Americans to seek refuge in the U.S. “Salvadorans are facing murder, rape and other violence after deportation in shockingly high numbers, while the U.S. government narrows Salvadorans’ access to asylum and turns a blind eye to the deadly results of its callous policies,” said Alison Parker, managing director of the U.S. Program at Human Rights Watch and co-author of the report.
A Salvadoran family migrants start their journey towards the United States in San Salvador on 20 January 2020. Photograph: Marvin Recinos/AFP via Getty Images
The. U.N. reported last year that killings in El Salvador, a majority of them linked to gang conflict, have declined since peaking in 2015. But the country still has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. The number of Salvadorans seeking asylum in the U.S. grew by nearly 1,000 percent between 2012 and 2017—about only 18 percent are granted asylum.
“The United States has to have known this was happening because the cases were publicly reported and more importantly because Salvadorans make it clear in asylum applications that this is their reality. But this reality is ignored or not believed by U.S. authorities,” said Elizabeth Kennedy, co-author of the report.
César Ríos, executive director of the Salvadoran Migration Institute, a non-governmental organization, said the country doesn’t track the deaths of deportees but that he found the data within the report credible. “We can say that deporting people to these areas is very difficult and dangerous,” Rios said. The actual number of killings and attacks is likely higher than reported.
Extra! Extra!
Totes a dose of reality. A story out of Florida said two men were pulled over for speeding but wound up with drug trafficking charges after authorities found meth and coke and other drugs stashed away in bags labeled “Bag Full of Drugs.” Now before you think they’d written this on Ziplocs in Sharpie so they could remember the bags’ contents, the tiny totes were actually fashionable accessory bags made by LookHUMAN, with “Bag Full of Drugs” hilariously printed in all caps.
As if law enforcement didn’t have it hard enough going bravely into unknown dangers daily, there are numerous styles of LookHUMAN accessory bags, some of which are adorned with—alongside the beloved “Bag Full of Drugs”—“Hexing Supplies,” “Bag Of Bullsh*t,” and “Souls Of Bad Children.” There’s one that simply features a floral pattern of penises. Warning: if these youthful, whimsical slogans are to be taken literally, as seen in Florida, please proceed with caution!
Sources:
Story Report: At least 138 sent from US to El Salvador were killed - AP News
US: Deported Salvadorans Abused, Killed - Human Rights Watch
Hundreds of Salvadorans deported by US were killed or abused, report reveals - The Guardian
The ACLU And Others Are Suing To Block The US From Sending Asylum-Seekers To Guatemala - BuzzFeed
Rep. Jerry Nadler Says House Will Likely Subpoena John Bolton - NPR
Trump acquittal on track, though Romney to vote to convict - AP News
Manchin calls for censuring Trump over pressuring Ukraine to investigate a domestic political rival - Washington Post
Beyond the Partisan Fight, a Wealth of Evidence About Trump and Ukraine - New York Times
Justice Department releases more Mueller documents to CNN and BuzzFeed - CNN
Lessons Learned From The Iowa Caucuses, And Danger Signs Ahead - NPR
Iowa Democrats just made the caucus debacle worse - Washington Post
Buttigieg slightly leading Sanders in partial Iowa results - AP News
Watchdog group files Hatch Act complaint against Kushner - The Hill
Watchdog files Hatch Act complaint against Jared Kushner - Axios
Complaint Calls for Investigation of Jared Kushner Over Alleged Hatch Act Violations - Law & Crime
Malaria: Global health communities celebrate 2 billion mosquito nets delivered worldwide - ICIR
50 women in U.S. House pen letter to Trump denouncing "continuing derogation of women" by president - Salon
Florida troopers find drugs in bag labeled ‘Bag Full of Drugs’ - WSVN