Welcome back to News Bits, C4SS’s look at the day’s news.
From the New York Times: Donald Trump has named his son-in-law Jared Kushner as his Senior Adviser, a move that will likely be challenged under federal anti-nepotism laws. But I mean let’s be honest this will probably stick. Nothing is true, everything is permitted and all that.
Also from the New York Times: At the NY Times Magazine, Patrick Symmes has written about Trump ally and overall horrible person, Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte and his list of drug addicts and dealers. Also, via Reuters, Dylann Roof’s sentencing period is coming to a close. Finally, Yahoo would rename itself “Altaba” if Verizon purchased it.
From the Washington Post: Trump probably won’t shake all of his conflicts of interest. Which, I mean. I don’t know, y’all, is that what matters now? “Oh hey guys, who cares if he’s a fascist – at least he doesn’t have any conflicts of interest!”
Also from the Washington Post: The FBI paid Geek Squad employees at Best Buy to scrape hard drives for child porn. Now privacy advocates are (F*CKIN RIGHTLY) concerned about implications for other situations. Also, Rick Riordan (author of Percy Jackson young adult novels) got an invitation to be honored by the Texas legislature, and he declined it because he opposes recently-introduced anti-transgender bathroom legislation. Nice!
From the Los Angeles Times: Backpage.com has closed its adult section down after pressure from law enforcement and an unfair legal battle against them.
Also from the Los Angeles Times: Someone was arrested in an attempted attack on a police station in Turkey.
From Reuters: The GOP is trying to pressure Trump into softening his pro-Russia rhetoric. It ain’t really working I don’t think.
From the Associated Press: Prospective Attorney General Jeff Sessions will face questioning from senators today.
From National Public Radio: Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos’s confirmation hearing has been delayed for a week. Also, a cop in Texas faces a 10-day suspension for forcibly arresting a woman who had called police because a man was grabbing her son.
From Politico: Monica Crowley, Donald Trump’s pick for senior director of strategic communications for the National Security Council, allegedly plagiarized a good chunk of her Ph.D dissertation from various sources, including “conservative columns, news articles, Wikipedia and in one case a podiatrist’s website.” Amazing. The Trump camp of course calls it a “politically motivated attack that seeks to distract from the real issues facing this country.” But whatever, ya girl copied from a foot doctor’s website for some reason and that’s hilarious.
Also from Politico: Betsy DeVos’s donations to FIRE (the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education) apparently mean she’s not committed to stopping sexual assault on college campuses? That’s… a reach, but hey, y’all do you. And finally, last week Trump tweeted (shocker) that he thinks the Senate and House intelligence committees should investigate NBC News over leaked intelligence reports. Which is exactly the opposite of what they should – and are going to – do.
From Infoshop News: Some folks in Bloomington, IN are starting an anarchist news blog and calling for submissions. It’s called Plain Words, check it out here. Also, here’s a list of some actions going down in January.
From It’s Going Down: The Missoula, MT branch of the Industrial Workers of the World is calling for solidarity and assistance in combating a planned armed march of Nazis in Whitefish. The Black Rose Federation has an analysis of the national Fraternal Order of Police’s “first 100 days” document. Spoilers: it’s horrifying. Tampa Food Not Bombs is going to continue feeding people despite repeated arrests. And finally, a memorial fund for Michael Israel, a slain YPG volunteer, has been established.
From the American Civil Liberties Union: “Trump and Sessions: Great for the Private Prison Industry” by Carl Takei and Katie Egan
From The Nation: “Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte is a Wildly Popular Fascist,” by Walden Bello
From Jacobin: “America’s Durable Monstrosity,” by Daniel Denvir
Thanks for reading today’s News Bits. Check back in tomorrow for more crunchy bits.
Follow C4SS on Twitter: @c4ssdotorg
Follow Trevor Hultner on Twitter: @trevor_c4ss
