The Serious Side - part 8

That's what I've bn wondering, Lizzie, and I was talking to a friend in the States yesterday about it - can't help thinking that most of them know stuff they can't talk about.

This is Christopher Miller, Trump appointee and 'acting' Secretary of Defence getting confused with his own evidence}

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYg8J6ow02A&t=15s

There are reports of some opening doors for people, and also helping people get to Washington.
The republicans want to take the house back so they don't want their actions to be told.

Annemarie - They know that if everything comes out taking back the  House will be the least of their problems. More than a few of them could end up in jail. I hope the Democrats can find a way to investigate that will really get to the truth and get the traitors like Marjorie Taylor Greene out of our government.

https://people.com/human-interest/more-than-50-dead-thousands-missing-in-germany-as-severe-floods-sweep-western-europe/

[size=48]More Than 50 Dead, Thousands Missing in Germany as Severe Floods Devastate Western Europe
Some areas of Germany have not seen this much rain for 100 years
By Naledi Ushe
July 15, 2021 09:33 PM

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More than 50 people have died in Germany as of Thursday night after severe floods in Western Europe devastated several areas of the country.
Over the past 24 hours, officials have determined that 58 people died across the nation and 1,300 are missing, The Washington Post and New York Times reported on Thursday.
At least 11 people in Belgium have died as a result of the extreme weather, officials said, the New York Times and BBC reported. The flooding has also affected the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland, and warnings were issued in areas of France.
In addition to lives lost, the flooding washed some people's homes away, while some German citizens have been left awaiting rescue from their rooftops. Power and cell phone signals were cut off in dozens of communities.

Firefighters, helicopter personnel, police, emergency responders and military are working in a joint effort to save those reported missing, according to the New York Times.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel — who is visiting President Joe Biden at the White House — said in a press conference that she was "shocked" by the extreme flooding.
"My sympathy goes to the relatives of the dead and missing," she said. "I grieve for those who have lost their lives in this disaster."
Merkel, 66, added, "We still don't know the number. But it will be many."




"Heavy rain and flooding' doesn't capture what happened," she said of the natural disaster.
The downpour of rain marked levels of precipitation that have not been recorded in some areas for 100 years, German weather service spokesperson Andreas Friedrich told CNN. "In some areas we've seen more than double the amount of rainfall which has caused flooding and unfortunately some building structures to collapse," he said.
Activists, politicians and other leaders have connected the extreme weather to climate change. The catastrophe occurred just days after the European Union announced its goal to cut the use of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases by 55 percent by 2030, the New York Times reported.



Climate activist Greta Thunberg tweeted, "Deadly heatwaves, floods, storms, wildfires, droughts, crop failures... This is not 'the new normal'. We're at the very beginning of a climate and ecological emergency, and extreme weather events will only become more and more frequent."
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her condolences to those affected by the severe flooding and vowed to support the nations affected.
"My thoughts are with the families of the victims of the devastating floods in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and those who have lost their homes," she tweeted. "The E.U. is ready to help."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/15/germany-flooding-buildings-collapse/


[size=46]At least 95 dead and some 1,300 missing as flooding rages across Europe[/size]







By 
Loveday Morris
, 


Jennifer Hassan
 and 


Luisa Beck
 

July 16, 2021|Updated today at 4:37 a.m. EDT

[size=10]791[/size]


CORRECTION
A photo caption in a previous version of this story incorrectly identified the location of Liege. The city is in Belgium. The story has been corrected.

BERLIN — At least 95 people are dead and about 1,300 are missing after devastating floods swept across a swath of Western Europe on Thursday, engulfing whole villages in raging muddy brown waters, overturning cars and forcing residents to evacuate.



Local media reported Friday that at least 81 people had died in Germany, by far the worst-hit country, where whole villages were cut off from rescuers and helicopters were deployed to pluck the stranded off rooftops. Some houses were simply washed away as a tributary of the Rhine burst its banks.


Divers were deployed to retrieve bodies from flooded houses. Speaking to German radio on Friday, Roger Lewentz, the interior minister for Rhineland-Palatinate, said families had gone to scoop water out of basements in initial flooding, only to be trapped by surging waters.





At least 14 people were killed in Belgium, a spokesman of the interior ministry said Friday, as the prime minister appealed for international aid. Severe flooding also impacted the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland, and warnings were issued in more than a dozen regions of France.

Fears remain that the death toll could climb significantly, with so many reported missing.

Officials stressed on Thursday that the high number of those unaccounted for could be due to the fact that mobile phone networks had been crippled. More than 1,000 rescue operations had taken place in the district since Thursday morning, they said.






Thousands had bedded down for the night in makeshift shelters at gyms or with relatives after being evacuated from their homes over concern that, with the threat of more rainfall, flooding could spread and dams could collapse.





Speaking from Washington, where she is on an official visit to meet with President Biden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that phrases such as “heavy rain” and “flood” were insufficient to describe the level of tragedy.

“In these hours, peaceful places are experiencing a catastrophe,” she said, describing her shock at seeing reports of people stranded on rooftops in extreme need.

“I mourn those who lost their lives in this disaster,” she said. “We don’t know the number yet. But there’ll be many.”

Scenes of destruction from the deadly floods

Some people drowned in the cellars of their houses, she said, and firefighters died while trying to rescue those stranded.

The extraordinary deluge of rain — at levels not seen in the area in the summer for at least 100 years — triggered calls to speed up action against climate change and boost flood protection amid erratic weather events. It came just a day after the European Union announced ambitious plans to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent below 1990 levels within less than a decade.






In the worst-hit parts of Germany, the rainfall in just 24 hours was double the normal long-term average for the entire month of July, according to the Deutscher Wetterdienst, Germany’s meteorological agency.





At least 28 people died in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, authorities said. In the region known for its wine growing, villages along the Ahr valley were swallowed by floodwaters. As many as 18 people died in the district of Ahrweiler, police said. Earlier in the day, local police said that as many as 50 residents were trapped on the roofs of their homes awaiting rescue.

Videos show city streets turned into swirling rivers and others engulfed by landslides. Cars were scooped up and tossed aside in crumpled wrecks. From the air, some villages appeared to have almost completely disappeared, only the tops of houses poking out from the floodwaters.






“Entire villages are flooded,” Malu Dreyer, the premier of Rhineland-Palatinate, said in a speech to the local parliament. “Houses float away just like that.”





Helicopters have been deployed for rescues, she added.

Police created a hotline for residents to report missing people, as rescue boats struggled to reach the area due to strong currents. “The consequences are devastating, and our first priority is still to save lives,” Jürgen Pföhler, the county commissioner of the Ahrweiler district, said at a news conference. “All our efforts are concentrated on that.”

The area was declared a disaster zone.

In the neighboring state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the death toll had climbed to 30, according to the state’s Interior Ministry. The army deployed tanks and trucks to the city of Hagen, where three bridges were destroyed, to clear roads of rubble and debris.






In the western state’s Euskirchen district, authorities said at least 15 people were killed. More than 4,500 people were evacuated from a string of villages after experts deemed a nearby dam unstable.





More buildings completely or partially collapsed in Erftstadt-Blessem, just outside the German city of Cologne on Friday morning, local authorities said.

“Only some people can be rescued with boats or rescuers,” the district posted on Facebook, adding that air rescues had to be stopped at around 9:45 p.m. Thursday due to the weather. Several people there remain missing.

“Many people are currently still in their homes,” it continued. “Rescue is often not possible. The infrastructure has failed, on-site hospital operations are no longer possible and several nursing homes are being cleared.”

Emergency responders in the city of Solingen rescued about 130 people. “We got people out with aerial ladders, boats, buoys. It was all improvised,” a spokesman for the fire department told German news channel WDR.





Two firefighters sent to assist those trapped by rising waters in the Sauerland region died, according to the German news agency DPA.

The country’s biggest power distribution company, Westnetz, estimated Thursday that around 200,000 homes were without electricity as a result of the widespread flooding.

On Wednesday, the German weather service issued an extreme weather alert — a warning that environmental expert Bernd Mehlig said was “completely unusual in summer.”










The deluge unfolded as a plume of deep moisture, sourced from the Mediterranean, surged into Central Europe.

A high-pressure zone over the eastern Atlantic, offshore France and the United Kingdom, acted as a pump, steering the moisture plume through France into Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.



That was flanked by an unusually intense zone of low pressure to the east over Central Europe, which helped generate the downpours.



The low was sandwiched between another area of high pressure over Eastern Europe, creating a weather system traffic jam that has allowed heavy rain to persist.

Computer models showed moisture levels in the atmosphere were comparable to those seen along the U.S. Gulf Coast during hurricane landfalls.

The exceptional intensity of the rainfall is consistent with what scientists anticipate with rising temperatures caused by human-induced climate change. Fred Hattermann, a hydrologist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said such flooding incidents are happening “more often and more intensely” due to climate change.



The duration and frequency of such floods is likely to increase, he said. “What I fear most is that we will see things we never imagined.”

A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, which then comes down as heavy rain, Hattermann said.



Higher temperatures also speed up evaporation, placing more water in the atmosphere for the kind of downpours that have occurred. A recent study in the Journal of Climate anticipates “large magnitude increases” in extreme precipitation in much of Europe in the coming decades.

While some commentators said it was a taste of the “new normal,” climate activist Greta Thunberg said there would be worse to come.

“This is not ‘the new normal,’ ” she wrote on Twitter. “We’re at the very beginning of a climate and ecological emergency, and extreme weather events will only become more and more frequent.”

Hannah Cloke, a professor of hydrology at the University of Reading in Britain, said warning signs abounded. “Forecasters could see this heavy rain coming and issued alerts early in the week, and yet the warnings were not taken seriously enough and preparations were inadequate,” she said.

“For so many people to die in floods in Europe in 2021 represents a monumental failure of the system,” she added. “These kind of high-energy, sudden summer torrents of rain are exactly what we expect in our rapidly heating climate. The fact that other parts of the Northern Hemisphere are currently suffering record-breaking heat waves and fires should serve as a reminder of just how much more dangerous our weather could become in an ever-warmer world.”

Steffen Seibert, a spokesman for the German government, said the severe flooding was “terrible.”

“Even though not every event, not every flooding or local incident, is related to climate change, many scientists tell us that the frequency, the intensity and the regularity with which this happens is a consequence of climate change,” he said.

Armin Laschet, the leader of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia who is vying to take over from Merkel in September elections, said more preparations for such extreme weather events are needed.

“We will be faced with such events over and over, and that means we need to speed up climate protection measures, on European, federal and global levels, because climate change isn’t confined to one state,” he said.

Parts of the Netherlands were also flooded, with a red-code warning issued for Limburg province. Local media reported that many people were forced to evacuate and as many as 400 homes were without power.

Switzerland also issued travel and weather warnings this week as heavy rainfall and thunderstorms brought flooding to the city of Zurich.

The mayor of Liege in Belgium said those among its 200,000 residents who could leave the city should do so and that those who could not should move to the upper floors in their homes. One person died in the city and four others were killed in the Belgian district of Verviers.

Earlier this week in Britain, flash floods sparked widespread travel chaos, with parts of London experiencing a month’s worth of rain in just one day. Locals were evacuated and cars became trapped as floodwaters continued to rise. Late last month, a tornado swept through the Czech Republic, killing at least five people — an extremely unusual weather event for Central Europe.

Floodwaters in some areas began to recede later Thursday, but it was too early to assess the full toll of the flooding, with some areas still cut off from rescuers.

Yvonne Glasner from Dernau, in the Ahr valley, told Germany’s Die Welt newspaper that her family was forced to abandon their newly constructed home.

“We could never have imagined that the water would rise so quickly and so extremely,” she said. “Now we are worried that we won’t be able to live in our new house at all.”

She said that she had not been able to contact her in-laws for hours but had seen their car float past. She said she hoped they were awaiting rescue on a rooftop.

Jason Samenow in Washington; Quentin Aries in Brussels; Amar Nadhir in Bucharest, Romania; and Karla Adam in London contributed to this report.

[size=48]CDC, State Department Issue 'Do Not Travel' Advisories for Spain, Portugal amid COVID Surges
Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan and Cuba have all been elevated to the highest travel advisories by the CDC and the State Department, as COVID cases surge in those destinations
By Glenn Garner
July 27, 2021 02:02 PM
FB[url=https://www.twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=CDC%2C State Department Issue %27Do Not Travel%27 Advisories for Spain%2C Portugal amid]Tweet[/url]
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Madrid, Spain
 
| CREDIT: GETTY
As summer travel gets back into full swing amid lessened COVID regulations, jet setters are warned against traveling to certain international destinations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the State Department have issued travel advisories for Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Kyrgyzstan, as COVID cases escalate in those countries.
The CDC has raised the advisory to "Level Four: Very High," recommending that Americans avoid travel to these locations, for which they note "even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants." In addition to the CDC's "Level Four" advisory, the State Department also issued "Do Not Travel" advisories, which are the highest advisories for each department.

RELATED: U.S. Will Not Lift Current Travel Restrictions Due to Delta Variant — Here's What That Means
The new advisories came as the CDC also escalated Cuba to "Level Four," following the lead of the State Department, who already classified the island nation as "Do Not Travel."
Meanwhile, the CDC has raised Armenia and Israel, the West Bank and Gaza to "Level Three: High," noting that "unvaccinated travelers should avoid nonessential travel" to those destinations, which the State Department has also put at "Level 3: Reconsider Travel."
With the United Kingdom recently raised to "Level Four" as well, the White House said on Friday that the United States will not lift travel restrictions on incoming tourism "at this point," as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to spread across the country.
RELATED VIDEO: The Importance of the COVID-19 Vaccine and the Call for 'Unity'






Catt Sadler Is Sick with COVID After Getting Fully Vaccinated: 'Delta Is Relentless'
"Given where we are today with the Delta variant, the United States will maintain existing travel restrictions at this point," White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said. "Driven by the Delta variant, cases are rising here at home, particularly among those who are unvaccinated, and [they] appear likely to continue to increase in the weeks ahead."
Air travel previously reached a pandemic-era high, with more than 7.1 million people passing through airport security over Memorial Day weekend, which was up nearly 450 percent from the same weekend in 2020.
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[size=48]CDC to Recommend Indoor Mask Wearing for Some Vaccinated People Due to Breakthrough Cases[/size]
The CDC is expected to change its policy on mask wearing for vaccinated individuals, and to suggest everyone in K-12 schools wear a mask
By Nicholas Rice
July 27, 2021 12:35 PM

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Travelers head to the airport wearing masks
 
| CREDIT: PAUL HENNESSY/SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to announce a change to its mask-wearing protocols.
On Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is scheduled to provide updated guidance, saying that some individuals who have received the COVID-19 vaccine in certain areas of the country — determining factors have yet to be announced — should resume wearing masks in select situations to protect against the illness.
The announcement would mark a reversal of the organization's guidance from May 13 that only unvaccinated individuals needed to wear face coverings while in public.
In a tweet, CBS News' Senior National & Environmental Correspondent Ben Tracy confirmed the news. "BREAKING: @CBSNews confirms the CDC will announce this afternoon that fully vaccinated Americans should return to wearing masks in indoor public settings due to the spread of the #DeltaVariant," he wrote.

Elsewhere, citing a health official, CNN's Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins said that the CDC is also expected to recommend today that school-aged children wear masks in class when they return to school this fall — regardless of their vaccination status.
RELATED: We Tested Tons of Face Masks So You Don't Have To — and These Are the 20 Best

Earlier this year, the CDC had stated that in most cases, Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 could be indoors or outdoors without masks or social distancing.

At the time, the announcement marked a major shift in public health guidance after a year of living with the pandemic. The CDC cited strong protection from the vaccines and the steep decline in new COVID-19 cases in that announcement, which was before the delta variant of COVID had taken hold.
RELATED VIDEO: Nurse Whose Husband Died of COVID Is on a Door-to-Door Vaccine Crusade: 'I Can Help Save Others'








Now, the updated rules expected from the CDC come as the delta variant is gaining traction throughout the country.
White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci previously said that the CDC was determining whether or not to update its face-covering guidance for vaccinated individuals on Sunday.
Noting that it was "under active consideration," Fauci, 80, told CNN, "It's a dynamic situation. It's a work in progress, it evolves like in so many other areas of the pandemic. You've got to look at the data."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Guidance from the CDC comes as only a recommendation, CNBC reported. States and local officials will be in charge of whether or not they choose to adopt the new mask rules.
People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna's vaccine, or two weeks after the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot. Currently, the CDC says that more than 163 million Americans have been fully vaccinated, while more than 188 million Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine. 

I wish the cdc would get their act together. How could you not know people that are vaccinated can still get and spred covid.
this whole thing is ridiculous common sense it's a shot that they say you won't get as sick if you get covid or delta. It is not a cure. I have no plans to take off my mask now or in the near future.

Annemarie - They do have their act together. This virus was new to them. How could they know that new variants could appear so quickly and spread so fast? Most vaccines are one or two shots and you're done - you're protected. This seems to be different and the CDC is informing us of what they learn as they learn it.

You're right. It's not a cure. It's a shot that will keep you from getting so sick that you end up in the hospital or die. Wearing a mask is annoying, but I'll wear one until the CDC tells me not to.

[size=46]Andrew Cuomo To Resign After Investigation Finds He Sexually Harassed Multiple Women[/size]



[size=16]Updated August 10, 20211:26 PM ET 
JACLYN DIAZ

DOMENICO MONTANARO
Twitter
DEEPA SHIVARAM
Twitter

CHLOEE WEINER[/size]


Andrew Cuomo, seen on March 8, has announced he is stepping down as governor of New York.
Seth Wenig/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced he will resign from office following a scathing report from the state's attorney general concluding that the third-term Democrat sexually harassed 11 women, and in one instance, sought to retaliate against one of his accusers who went public with her allegations.
"Wasting energy on distractions is the last thing that state government should be doing, and I cannot be the cause of that," Cuomo, 63, said in remarks from the capital of Albany on Tuesday.
"I think that, given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing," he added.
His Lt. Governor, Kathy Hochul, will be next in line and will be the state's first female governor.

If Gov. Cuomo Leaves Office, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul Would Be Next, And Make History

"This transition must be seamless," Cuomo said, calling Hochul smart and competent. "She can come up to speed quickly."
Hochul, who served one term in Congress before being tapped by Cuomo to be his running mate in 2014, said in a statement she agreed with the governor's decision to step down.
"It is the right thing to do and in the best interest of New Yorkers," she said. "As someone who has served at all levels of government and is next in the line of succession, I am prepared to lead as New York State's 57th Governor."

Cuomo will leave office on August 24

Cuomo's departure from office, which will take effect in 14 days, represents a remarkable turn of events from just over a year ago, when the governor was seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party for his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic. Yet even that performance is now under a cloud of scrutiny, as a separate investigation by the attorney general found that the number of nursing home deaths disclosed by the state was far worse than officials disclosed.

NATIONAL

N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo Sexually Harassed Multiple Women, State Investigation Finds

But it was the allegations of harassment that precipitated the once unthinkable prospect of Cuomo's resignation. The 165-page report released last week followed a months-long investigation into Cuomo's actions and outlined what New York Attorney General Letitia James called violations of both state and federal law. Prosecutors said their findings substantiated allegations from several women — allegations that included unwanted and nonconsensual touching, groping and kissing and sexual comments.
"This is a sad day for New York because independent investigators have concluded that Governor Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and, in doing so, broke the law," James said upon the report's release. "No man – no matter how powerful – can be allowed to harass women or violate our human rights."

It's a stunning fall for Cuomo, a political scion who's last name is like royalty in New York. His father, Mario, a former three-term governor, is revered in the state. Cuomo's resignation marks an end to a nearly half-century political dynasty. There has been a Cuomo in statewide or federal office for 40 of the last 46 years.
In his remarks Tuesday, Cuomo repeatedly denied the allegations against him and called the report "false." The most serious allegations, he said, "had no credible factional basis."
He then apologized for offending the women who were included in the report and said he took "full responsibility" for his actions.
"I have been too familiar with people. My sense of humor can be insensitive and off-putting. I do hug and kiss people casually, women and men. I have done it all my life," Cuomo said.
"In my mind, I've never crossed the line with anyone but I didn't realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn."

Multiple women spoke out publicly against Cuomo

Since February, at least seven women have come forward to recount unwelcome interactions with Cuomo, including several former aides.
Among them is Jessica Bakeman, who said in a New York Magazine essay published in March that the governor touched her inappropriately while she was working as a statehouse reporter several years ago. Bakeman now works at an NPR member station in Florida.
Her account followed claims from an unidentified aide who said Cuomo had groped her at the governor's mansion late last year. The Times Union of Albany said it spoke with someone who had direct knowledge of her allegation that the governor reached under her shirt and fondled her after she was called to his office to assist with an issue involving his phone.

NATIONAL

Gov. Cuomo Apologizes For 'Misinterpreted' Comments Amid Sexual Harassment Claims

An attorney for the governor, Beth Garvey, said the state had an obligation to report those allegations and did so when the complainant declined to do it.
Following the Times Union revelation, the speaker of the New York State Assembly, Carl Heastie, authorized the Assembly's Judiciary Committee to open an impeachment investigation to look into the misconduct allegations against Cuomo.
Another woman, Anna Ruch, shared her story with The New York Times. Ruch told the Times in March that she met Cuomo during a wedding reception in September 2019. Ruch said that Cuomo put his hand on her bare lower back and that after she removed his hand, he then placed both hands on her cheeks and asked if he could kiss her. A friend nearby photographed the interaction, and Ruch shared the photos with the newspaper.

Calls to resign have been growing from within his own party

Following publication of Ruch's story, U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice called for Cuomo to quit. She was the first Democrat in New York's congressional delegation to do so.
In the months since, every member of the state's congressional delegation has followed suit, including Reps. Jerry Nadler and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. So too did the state's two senators — Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.

NATIONAL

Gov. Cuomo Grants N.Y. AG's Request To Investigate Sexual Harassment Allegations

President Joe Biden also said Cuomo should resign if the investigation confirmed the womens' allegations.
"I think he'll probably end up being prosecuted, too," Biden told [url=http:][/url]ABC News in March.
After the attorney general's report was released Aug. 3, Biden confirmed that he believed Cuomo should step down. "I think he should resign," Biden told reporters at the White House.
Ruch's allegations followed statements in February from two former aides: Lindsey Boylan, a onetime economic adviser to Cuomo, and Charlotte Bennett, who worked as an executive assistant and health policy adviser for the governor.
Boylan described an unwanted kiss and touching from the governor, amid "a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected."
Bennett told The New York Times that the governor had asked her a series of personal questions when she was alone with him in his office, including whether she ever had sex with older men.

Cuomo also faced backlash for nursing home deaths

On top of the harassment accusations, Cuomo was also facing pressure for not publicly disclosing the full number of people who died of COVID-19 in nursing homes in the state.
James issued a report in late January that found Cuomo's administration undercounted the nursing home deaths by 50% because it didn't include many residents who became sick with COVID-19, were transferred to a hospital and died there.

A long history in politics

Cuomo has been involved in politics for most of his life. Arguably, politics has been more a part of his life than even his father's.
He got his start in politics as a volunteer on his father's campaign for lieutenant governor [size=22]when he was just 16. In 1982, at 24, he served as his father's campaign manager for Mario's first successful run for governor.
When his father was governor, Cuomo then started a nonprofit in the 1980s to help build housing for the homeless, which drew the attention of national political figures.
By the 1990s, Cuomo was serving as secretary of housing and urban development in Bill Clinton's administration. And he was married to Kerry Kennedy in a marriage dubbed "Cuomolot" by the New York tabloids, a play on Camelot, which the Kennedy family is sometimes called.
Andrew Cuomo returned to New York in 2000 and immediately launched a campaign against Republican Gov. George Pataki, the man who unseated his father and denied Mario Cuomo a fourth term.
The campaign, though, was a bust. He lost in the Democratic primary, and Pataki won reelection. After the loss, his marriage fell apart, too. It was a time he called the low point of his life.
But by 2006, he was back. He ran and won as state attorney general, mapping out his arc to the governorship. He was elected governor in 2010, and was serving his third term, seeking his fourth, at the time of his resignation.
Only one other person had won four terms as New York State governor — Nelson Rockefeller, who went on to serve as Gerald Ford's vice president in 1974.[/size]

https://people.com/politics/malala-yousafzai-worried-as-taliban-seizes-power-in-afghanistan/

[size=48]Malala Yousafzai 'Deeply Worried About Women, Minorities' as Taliban Seizes Power in Afghanistan
The group, which ruled Afghanistan in 1996 until the invasion of U.S. forces post-9/11, is now in control of more than half of the country
By Nicholas Rice
August 15, 2021 02:55 PM
F[url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Fpolitics%2Fmalala-yousafzai-worried-as-taliban-seizes-power-in-afghanistan%2F%3Futm_source%3Dpinterest.com%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3Dsocial-share-article%26utm_content%3D20210816%26utm_term%3Dundefined&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimagesvc.meredithcorp.io%2Fv3%2Fmm%2Fimage%3Furl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F20%2F2021%2F08%2F15%2FMalala-Yousafzai.jpg&description=Malala Yousafzai %27Deeply Worried About Women%2C Minorities%27 as Taliban Seizes Power in Afghanistan][/url]

CREDIT: MARLA AUFMUTH/GETTY
Malala Yousafzai is voicing her concerns over the Taliban's recent control of Afghanistan.
On Sunday, the 24-year-old human rights activist — who was 15 and a student in Pakistan when a Taliban gunman boarded her school bus and shot her in the face — expressed how she worries for women, minorities, and human rights advocates in the country while also calling upon global, regional, and local powers to provide aid.
"We watch in complete shock as Taliban takes control of Afghanistan," she tweeted. "I am deeply worried about women, minorities and human rights advocates."
Added Yousafzai: "Global, regional and local powers must call for an immediate ceasefire, provide urgent humanitarian aid and protect refugees and civilians."
RELATED: U.S. Signs Deal with Taliban to Withdraw Troops from Afghanistan and End America's Longest War

In just the past week, outlets including The New York Times reported that the Taliban seized over a dozen provincial capitals in Afghanistan. The group, which ruled Afghanistan in 1996 until the invasion of U.S. forces post-9/11, is now in control of more than half of the country. 

Months after President Joe Biden announced the end of a decades-long U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, his administration is sending additional troops to the country to provide aid while Americans and allies evacuate. The large majority of the troops are expected in Kabul by the end of the weekend, CNN reported.
A White House official issued the following statement Sunday morning.
"This morning, the President and Vice President met by secure videoconference with their national security team to hear updates on the drawdown of our civilian personnel in Afghanistan, evacuations of SIV applicants and other Afghan allies, and the ongoing security situation in Kabul. The President and Vice President met with Secretary Blinken, Secretary Austin, Chairman Milley, Director Burns, Director Haines, National Security Advisor Sullivan, Ambassador Wilson, Ambassador Khalilzad, General McKenzie, and other senior officials."

In a statement on Saturday, Biden, 78, said he authorized the deployment "to make sure we can have an orderly and safe drawdown of US personnel and other allied personnel and an orderly and safe evacuation of Afghans who helped our troops during our mission and those at special risk from the Taliban advance."
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The troops being sent to the Kabul airport will not be directly involved in Afghanistan's war against the Taliban. Instead, they are being deployed to assist with security and aid in the evacuation of embassy employees, Pentagon chief spokesman John Kirby said previously.
President Biden has been insistent that the U.S. will withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, marking 20 years since the Twin Towers fell and sparked the country's longest war. 
RELATED: George W. Bush Says Afghanistan Withdrawal Is a Mistake: 'Breaks My Heart'
"It is time for American troops to come home," Biden said during a speech from the White House in April. "We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan hoping to create the ideal conditions for our withdrawal, expecting a different result."
U.S. troops were first sent to Afghanistan in 2001 by then-President George W. Bush.
In the years since, over 2,000 U.S. troops and more than 100,000 civilians have died or been injured in the years-long conflict.

---

I am not at all surprised!

 And who knew that Donald Trump did a secret deal with the Taliban in 2020 on one of his   Middle East trips to release 600 Taliban prisoners from jail?!

PAN - Does it surprise you that our ex-president made a deal with the Taliban? Will it surprise you if the politicians who knew about the deal are the same men who are howling the loudest about the troop withdrawal? The Republican party is filled with self-serving hypocrites and the Democrats are too afraid of looking like them to effectively fight back.

Re: Afghanistan. I don't know how that gets solved. It seems like outside troops would have to stay there forever in order for them to have anything resembling peace. All the time, effort and manpower our nations have invested don't seem to have had much effect. Within days they're almost right back where they started. There's an interesting article in today's Washington Post on how/why things happened the way they did.

None of that surprises me at all, Lizzy. Anymore than the systematic way he tried to manipulate Attorney General Rosen to overturn the election

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9oX5d7iiOk


Re Afghanistan, it's been announced tonight that Ghani, who was running the place, left with a helicopter and four cars full of cash - some of which fell out when the 'coptor took off - for an unknown destination. So who can be surprised by the Afghan Army surrendering straight away?

According to the article in the Post, corruption and fear riddled local governments, the police and the army - and led to collusion with the Taliban from the start. It's not a surprise that resistance collapsed, but it is sad. So many innocent people will suffer because they've been betrayed by their own. It's cruel for us to abandon them, but I don't think keeping our troops there will solve anything either.

I guess I'm showing my age, but this is very reminiscent of the fall of Saigon.

https://people.com/health/texas-requests-5-mortuary-trucks-as-covid-cases-and-deaths-soar/

[size=48]Texas Requests 5 Mortuary Trucks as COVID Cases and Deaths Soar
COVID-19 deaths in the state have increased 307% in the last 14 days, and at least five regions say their hospitals are out of ICU beds
By Julie Mazziotta
August 17, 2021 02:52 PM[/size]

[url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Fhealth%2Ftexas-requests-5-mortuary-trucks-as-covid-cases-and-deaths-soar%2F%3Futm_source%3Dpinterest.com%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3Dsocial-share-article%26utm_content%3D20210817%26utm_term%3Dundefined&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimagesvc.meredithcorp.io%2Fv3%2Fmm%2Fimage%3Furl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F20%2F2021%2F08%2F17%2Ftexas-covid.jpg&description=Texas Requests 5 Mortuary Trucks as COVID Cases and Deaths Soar][/url]

Workers load up mortuary trucks in El Paso, Texas
 
| CREDIT: MARIO TAMA/GETTY
Texas has requested five mortuary trucks from the federal government as COVID-19 cases and deaths surge in the state, NBC News reported.
State officials are expecting an influx of dead bodies that would overwhelm their current mortuary system, Department of State Health Services spokesperson Doug Loveday told the outlet.
"We are anticipating a need within the state of Texas for these trailers as COVID cases and hospitalizations continue to increase," he said.
Texas is currently dealing with one of the largest increases in COVID-19 cases in the country, with around 15,000 new infections a day. The rise in cases, combined with the low vaccination rates in the state — currently just 47% of Texans are fully vaccinated — have also led to an increase in hospitalizations and deaths.

RELATED: U.S. Reports More Than 122,000 New COVID Cases in Single Day, Most Since February
Nearly 12,000 people in Texas are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, a 71% jump over the last 14 days, and around 160 people a day are dying from the virus, a 307% increase, according to The New York Times.
The trucks, from FEMA, will go first to San Antonio, and then be transported around the state as needed. Another spokesperson at the health agency, Chris Van Deusen, told NBC News that they requested the trucks as a precaution.
"We haven't gotten any local requests, but we want to be ready with the COVID cases in the state," Van Deusen said. "We didn't want to wait."
RELATED VIDEO: N.Y.C. To Require Proof Of Vaccination For Indoor Dining And Fitness







With the rise in cases in Texas, hospitals are running out of space. According to state data, five regions have no remaining hospital ICU beds, and seven others have less than 10.
Despite the influx of cases and deaths, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued an executive order banning any vaccination or mask requirements in the state. Two counties challenged the rule, but the Texas Supreme Court upheld Abbott's order.

I have never been so sickened by the state of our country as I am now.  We have one properly functioning political party right now and that can’t stand if we are going to have a democracy.  As far as the political BS the corrupt Republicans are spewing re Afghanistan Biden DID the right thing by getting out.  He has been nothing but consistent for years saying we should no longer be there.  He screwed up the evacuation big time but I have faith that he will try to do the best he can to get as many Americans and our allies out as he can. Sadly he won’t be able to get them all out. I don’t know how much this will hurt him politically.  Just think how this situation would have unfolded if Trump was still in office.  Trump made a lousy deal with the Taliban because he didn’t care about the consequences.  He only cared about how it made him look at the time ... a President who finally was getting us out of Afghanistan.  And how hard would Trump try to relocate thousands of Afghans to our country.  This is the same guy who instituted a Muslim ban while in office.  

The pandemic of the unvaccinated is on Trump and his Republican cohorts.  From the onset of COVID Trump lied about the virus, told his followers it was a Democratic hoax at his rallies and then refused to wear a mask and encouraged others not to either.  His followers have been in lockstep ever since.  

Bottomline, with all the calamity going on, including a huge assault on our voting rights, the corrupt Republicans have a good chance of taking back the Senate and the House in Congress in 2022.  What is wrong with this country?

Sadly, this country is showing it's true colors and it is not going to end well .

When Mr Trump decided in his wisdom to quietly agree to the release of several thousand Taliban fighters from prison (for what?) obviously the game was up........

And Mr Zuckerberg has a huge part to play in the misinformation of the vaccines on his platform. But far too many people seem to regard the platform as news and will not leave it.

Madness

Donnamarie - I agree with pretty much everything you said. I think we got here through a mixture of ignorance and fear which the Republicans have played upon for years. They've managed to convince a small segment of the population that anything meant to help people is bad and all that matters is stockpiling the almighty dollar. Sadly, there are enough ignorant people in their base that have been able to influence the attitudes of a lot of our young people to be just like them - ignorant, envious and hate-filled. Our education system has a lot to answer for, as do the media and social media. We haven't heard the last of these idiots yet, but eventually I think they'll crawl back under their rocks - or if their governors have their way, they'll die of covid and reduce the base. I'm at a point where I really don't care which.

Annemarie - I don't think this country is showing anything but the true colors of a small part of the population that is freaking out because they are realizing that they're dying out and are becoming outnumbered. There are many, many more good people in this country than you would think by watching the news. Just keep in mind that things in the news are there because they're not normal. They're the freakish, horrible and disgusting things that most of us wouldn't be aware of if it wasn't in the media.

Sweetie, do yourself a favor and turn it all off for a couple of days. Don't watch it, don't read it, don't listen to it. I promise you'll feel a lot better.

Almost posted this in the "Apple" thread, but realized we were getting way off topic. A couple of things have been bugging me.

1. Sometime during the last week or so I saw an article by a doctor listing many drugs in general use today that were developed with the use of stem cell technology. The list was very long, but the only drug I remember was Tylenol. His point was that anyone objecting to taking the coronavirus vaccine on religious grounds should also stop taking any of these drugs immediately or admit to being a hypocrite and take the damn shot.

My question: Did anyone else see this? If you did, can you please tell me where you saw it. I've been searching but I can't find it.

2. The Texas abortion ban and the attack on Roe v. Wade: I don't think marching in the streets will help. I think we need a national week (at least) of abstinence on the part of every woman who cares about this. Any man who tries to force himself on a woman should be charged with assault. It's time we got serious about this. Lysistrata was right!

Hi Lizzy. This goes way back to something like 2012 - here's one example from Googling stem cell use in drug making. There are many such articles

https://www.jci.org/articles/view/138645


Meant to ask at some point how the 'let's not eat meat' and what it's doing to the planet thoughts are going over there. It's given many whom I  know pause for thought over here over the last couple of years -many lead by the next generation's decisions....


Fascinating programme of the Earthshot series introduced by Prince William on tv here at the mo. What we are doing is appalling - and one section was on palm oil which seems to be in everything - but there are exceptions
thank God, who are doing the right thing.


It's a bit like Amazon - you have to be a bit different and not go for the easy option and look for instant gratification......... 

PAN - Thanks for the link. The article is interesting but not what I was looking for. The article I saw listed the names of quite a few over-the-counter medications and prescription drugs widely in use that were developed using stem cell technology. The names of those drugs is what I was looking for. All I keep finding is articles on stem cell therapies or manufacture.

The vegetarian/vegan movement has a foothold here and development of plant based "meat" products seems to have a lot of fans. What I wondered was, if we all stop eating meat what happens to all the cows and pigs and chickens, etc.? Where do they all go?They're not quite suitable as household pets. I'm sure the animal rights activists will have a lot to say about it if it's decided to let farm animals go extinct.

I haven't seen the Earthshot program, but I think it might be on YouTube. I'll look for it.

Well, Lizzy, I'm not convinced that the cows are any happier knowing that they're being bred just to be killed (and if calves, hung and bled to death for veal), because we like to eat them!

Seriously tho, it's the industrial scale that they are being bred and farmed and the amount of deforestation that happens, especially in the Amazon, to grow soya instead to feed them, Brazil of course being the biggest culprit.

There also seems to be more and more medical evidence that eating a lot of meat causes us humans to have more diseases - most people I know are now eating meat once or twice a week at the most.....but of course the pharmaceutical industries won't be broadcasting that becos they won't make as much money!

Well, I'm not sure the cows know what they're in for but I'm sure they could be treated more humanely. All our animals could. That's part of the reason I don't eat veal or lamb - or much meat at all for that matter.

As for the rest, supplying food to every part of the world is awfully complicated, but people need to be fed. I imagine that's why industrial scale farming came about in the first place. The problem , now that we're beginning to realize it, is how to make the food supply sustainable without destroying the planet. We've been doing so many things wrong for so long I'm not sure we can turn things around in time, but I hope we can.

https://people.com/politics/justice-sonia-sotomayor-only-member-supreme-court-wear-mask/

[size=48]Justice Sonia Sotomayor Is Only Member of Supreme Court to Wear Mask as In-Person Arguments Resume
Sotomayor, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 8, has said managing the disease has taught her discipline and to pay close attention to her body
By Aaron Parsley 
October 05, 2021 04:47 PM
Products in this story are independently selected and featured editorially. If you make a purchase using these links we may earn commission.[/size]

[url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Fpolitics%2Fjustice-sonia-sotomayor-only-member-supreme-court-wear-mask%2F%3Futm_source%3Dpinterest.com%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3Dsocial-share-article%26utm_content%3D20211005%26utm_term%3Dundefined&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimagesvc.meredithcorp.io%2Fv3%2Fmm%2Fimage%3Furl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F20%2F2021%2F10%2F05%2Fsonia-sotomayor.jpg&description=Justice Sonia Sotomayor Is Only Member of Supreme Court to Wear Mask as In-Person Arguments Resume][/url]

Justice Sonia Sotomayor
 
| CREDIT: ERIN SCHAFF/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY
As a new term began Monday for the U.S. Supreme Court, its justices returned to the bench for the first time in 18 months.
Their unusually long absence from the courtroom was due to the coronavirus pandemic, which kept one judge away and another in a mask.
While Justice Brett Kavanaugh, 54, participated remotely because of a symptom-free, breakthrough case of COVID-19, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, 67, was the only member of the court who wore a mask, according to reports from inside the courtroom.
Sotomayor, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 8, has said managing the disease has taught her discipline and to pay close attention to her body.

"I have the job of my dreams — it's a cool job," Justice Sotomayor told children with type 1 diabetes in 2011, adding that "diabetes is a constant part of my life."
In her memoir, My Beloved World, she wrote about giving herself daily shots of insulin as a child.
RELATED: Supreme Court Won't Block Highly Restrictive Texas Abortion Law After Delay
On Monday, the justices heard arguments in a case involving water rights in Mississippi and Tennessee as they began a term that is likely to impact highly charged issues like gun ownership, the death penalty and abortion access — including a case in which the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that established a constitutional right to abortion could be overturned.



The courtroom is currently closed to the public until further notice as part of safety measures in place to prevent the spread of virus.
Lawyers are required to be tested for COVID-19 and asked to wear N95 masks except when presenting their arguments. Credentialed journalists are also allowed inside the courtroom with similar requirements.
RELATED: Daughter of Jane Roe Has 'No Regrets' About Never Meeting Her Birth Mother After Landmark Abortion Case
A masked Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired from the court in 2018, was in the courtroom on Monday, seated in a section reserved for visiting dignitaries, The New York Times reported.


Monday also marked the first day of in-person arguments for Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump and confirmed in a razor-thin vote by the U.S. Senate in the final days of Trump's term.
RELATED: Amy Coney Barrett Argues Supreme Court Justices Aren't 'Partisan Hacks' After Controversial Abortion Ruling
The court last heard arguments in person in March of 2020, which meant that hearings during Barrett's entire first term were conducted done by phone.

https://people.com/health/federal-judge-orders-texas-to-suspend-enforcement-of-abortion-law/

[size=48]Federal Judge Orders Texas to Suspend Enforcement of Abortion Law
The order blocks the state from enforcing the law in any capacity, including barring judges and court clerks from hearing or administering lawsuits brought against an individual or provider
By Katie Campione 
October 06, 2021 11:10 PM
FB[url=https://www.twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Federal Judge Orders Texas to Suspend Enforcement of Abortion Law]Tweet[/url]
More







Marathoner Learns She Has Breast Cancer After Delaying Mammogram Due to COVID: 'I Didn't Feel Sick'
A federal judge has temporarily banned enforcement of Texas' restrictive Senate Bill 8.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman granted a preliminary injunction to suspend enforcement of the abortion ban, after the Justice Department argued that Senate Bill 8 was created "to prevent women from exercising their constitutional rights."
The order blocks the state from enforcing the law in any capacity, including barring judges and court clerks from hearing or administering lawsuits brought against individuals who seek abortions or abortion providers under Senate Bill 8.
"Fully aware that depriving its citizens of this right [to an abortion] by direct state action would be flagrantly unconstitutional, the State contrived an unprecedented and transparent statutory scheme to do just that," Pitman wrote in his opinion.

He added, "From the moment S.B. 8 went into effect, women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their lives in ways that are protected by the Constitution. That other courts may find a way to avoid this conclusion is theirs to decide; this Court will not sanction one more day of this offensive deprivation of such an important right."
[/size]

RELATED: Doctor Who Performed Abortion Being Sued in Order to Challenge Controversial Texas Law in Court

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Wednesday that the ruling "is an important step forward toward restoring the constitutional rights of women across the state of Texas."
Psaki added, "S.B. 8 not only blatantly violates the right to safe and legal abortion established under Roe v. Wade, but it creates a scheme to allow private citizens to interfere with that right and to evade judicial review. The fight has only just begun, both in Texas and in many states across this country where women's rights are currently under attack. That's why the President supports codifying Roe v. Wade, why he has directed a whole-of-government response to S.B. 8, and why he will continue to stand side-by-side with women across the country to protect their constitutional rights."
Texas first passed Senate Bill 8 — described by Planned Parenthood as "one of the most extreme abortion bans in the U.S." — Sept. 1. The bill bans abortions after six weeks, making no exceptions even in cases of rape, sexual abuse, incest or fetal anomalies.
The law also rewards a minimum of $10,000 to private citizens who successfully sue abortion providers. Anyone who aids in an individual securing an abortion — including those driving the patient to a clinic or helping to cover the cost — can also be sued.
After the Supreme Court declined to block the law in a 5-4 vote, the Justice Department sued Texas over the law Sept. 9.
Want to get the biggest stories from PEOPLE every weekday? Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.
"The act is clearly unconstitutional under long-standing Supreme Court precedent," Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit, per The Associated Press.
Last month, abortion rights activist Anna Rupani from Fund Texas Choice said on the PEOPLE Every Day podcast that she fears the entire country could be impacted by the new restrictions.


RELATED: Texas Abortion Rights Advocate Warns Restrictive Laws Will 'Impact the Entire Nation'
"We're hearing that other states want to see how long this plays out, and can they create just as restrictive laws in their own states," she explained. 
While abortion care may be easily accessible for most women in states like New York, Rupani questioned, "will it be easy to access if other states outside of Texas start banning abortion?"
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.
"I think in Oklahoma, for the last three weeks, most of the patients at a couple of Oklahoma clinics have only been Texans. So that means you're forcing Oklahomans out of their state, unfortunately, because that's the first place Texans are going to get care," she said. "And this is just going to create a chilling and trickle-down effect of where folks are going."

Bravo to Judge Pitman! I hope other judges have as much courage as he does. I also hope he has round-the-clock protection since many right-to-life-ers only believe in the right to life of a fetus. All other life is disposable if it doesn't agree with their philosophy - and this is Texas.

Agree Lizzy but Judge Pittman saw that this Texas law was unconstitutional and did the right thing.   The Justice Department has declared as much.  The Supreme Court should never have let this law stand.

The Supreme Court should never have included Kavanaugh and Coney.

https://people.com/human-interest/mom-speaks-out-after-black-daughter-is-arrested-at-school-over-drawing/

[size=48]'Traumatized' Mom Speaks Out After Her Black Daughter, 10, Is Arrested at School Over Drawing
"I'm disheartened to know that this day will live with my daughter forever," Tamara Taylor said of the incident

By Joelle GoldsteinOctober 22, 2021 07:20 PM[/size]


Honowai Elementary School
 
| CREDIT: GOOGLE MAPS
The mother of a 10-year-old girl, who was arrested at her Hawaii school last year over a drawing, is speaking out about the "traumatic" ordeal.
Tamara Taylor said she feels "disheartened" and singled out after the incident at her daughter's school in Waipahu, Honolulu, according to a letter issued on Monday by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Hawaii.
Her daughter — who was only identified by the ACLU as N.B. — was arrested at Honowai Elementary School in January 2020 after a parent complained about an "offensive" sketch she and other students had drawn in response to another student bullying N.B., the letter stated.
Though other students were involved in the incident, Mateo Caballero of Caballero Law LLC tells PEOPLE that N.B. was the only child "who was investigated, interrogated, disciplined, and arrested." She was also the only Black student involved, Caballero claims.

"My daughter and I are traumatized from these events and I'm disheartened to know that this day will live with my daughter forever," Taylor said in her statement.
A spokesperson for the Honolulu Police Department and Honowai Elementary School did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
RELATED: Calif. Teacher Placed on Leave After Video Shows Her Wearing Headdress, Mimicking Native American Dance
Speaking to CNN, Taylor said she dropped her daughter off at school on Jan. 10 and later received a call about a dispute involving the children where police may possibly be called to the scene.
By the time she arrived at the school, Taylor said officers were already there. She was then led into a room to discuss the situation.
"However, what happened previous[ly] to lead up to where we were at that moment was never explained to me," Taylor noted to CNN. "I really didn't know what was going on at that point in time."

While in the room, Taylor said she saw her daughter from a distance being escorted outside, but was told she was unable to leave, according to the ACLU.
The organization's letter, which was addressed to the Honolulu Police Department (HPD), the state Department of Education (DOE) and the state attorney general's office, stated that "police interrogated 10-year-old N.B., handcuffed her with excessive force, arrested her without probable cause, and transported her to the police station—all without letting N.B. see or speak with her mother."
RELATED VIDEO: How a Black Police Officer Who Experienced Racism as a Teen Hopes to 'Effect Internal Change'








The ACLU also argued that police and school officials took these steps despite the fact that N.B. was being cooperative "and did not pose any danger to any person or herself—and without accommodating N.B.'s disability, which was documented with the school."
Later in the letter, the ACLU noted that police and school officials "refused to let Ms. Taylor see her daughter or fully inform her of the underlying situation, despite [her] repeated requests."
"After they finally released her from the room, Ms. Taylor learned, to her horror, that the police were taking her daughter to the police station," the letter reads. "By the time N.B. was finally released to her mother at the police precinct, she was hungry, exhausted, and had been in the school or HPD's custody for over four hours."
In her statement, Taylor argued that race played a role in her daughter's arrest and demanded that the DOE and HPD change their policies when it comes to minors and disputes on school property.
RELATED: MIT's First Black Female Student Body President on Campus Racism — and Returning to School amid COVID
"I was stripped of my rights as a parent and my daughter was stripped of her right to protection and representation as a minor," Taylor said. "There was no understanding of diversity, African-American culture and the history of police involvement with African-American youth."
Attorney Caballero echoed those sentiments in a statement to PEOPLE, calling the events "wrong and illegal, but also too common and entirely preventable."
"Many underfunded schools rely on police rather than teachers or counselors to maintain discipline. That is why the elementary school felt comfortable calling the police simply because a parent insisted they do so. As a result, children are being arrested for simple disciplinary issues, like an offensive drawing," Caballero says.
RELATED: Calif. Teacher Resigns After Family Says She Made Racist Comments on Zoom: 'It's Just So Hurtful'
"School arrests disproportionately target students of color and disabled students, such as N.B., who is both," Caballero continues. "Given the outrageous actions of the police and school administrators that day, treating Ms. Taylor and her daughter as second class, it is hard to believe that they were not treated that way because of their race."
The ACLU is giving the DOE, HPD and the state attorney general's office until Nov. 8 to respond to their demands, according to the letter.
In a statement to CNN, the HPD said they were "reviewing the letter and will be working with Corporation Counsel to address these allegations."

Just saw an article in the NY Daily News that Nicholas Kristof is going to run for governor of Oregon. I wonder how George feels about his friend running for office, since he has said he would never do it himself. Do you think it would help or hurt if George endorsed him or actively supported Kristof's campaign?

I didn’t know that.  I just googled Kristof to find out more.  Seems like he will have lots of competition in the Democratic primary next year.  He’s from Oregon and moved back there from New York a few years ago.  Kristof might get a lot of financial support from a number of his connections as a well known NYT journalist.  George might want to lend his support but the optics can be tricky.  Other candidates may use that against Kristof.

Hi guys!
I've just realized how long it's been since we last talked politics!

Anybody wanting to talk about Russia starting a war vs Ukraine?

Carol- I don't know how to process the response in this country to Putin's attack on Ukraine. Most of us are horrified at Putin's total disregard for international law. The moron Drumpf thinks it's really great and the Republican party is falling in line behind him. The garbage he's spewing seems to be gaining him more support for a run in 2024 even though, in a more rational time, he'd probably be tried for treason. If this was 1940 he'd be kissing Hitler's ass. Personally, I'd like to see him and all his disgusting. spineless suck-ups locked up for eternity.

I read that Germany has massively increased its defense budget and is helping Ukraine defend itself. The US is also supposed to be sending military material - but not troops. I pray that the Ukrainians can hold on and that the financial sanctions on Russia and Putin have a real effect, just as I'm hoping all the lawsuits here bankrupt Drumpf to the point where he has no possibility of financing another run for the presidency.

With all the awful things going on in the world the last couple of years I can't help but think we've really pissed somebody off!

Putin is crazy some say he is dieing so this is his last big stand. I some how doubt that the man is simply evil. As the Idiot we all know he wants to be putin but never will be. I agree Lizzy the idiot and all his minions should be put in jail. Sadly, when it comes to the fool not being able to finance a run for presidency he still has fools who will give him money some very rich.

Nato response force has been activated for the first time in history. Our forces are moving closet to Ukraine just in case putin decides to attack a nato ally. We can't enter Ukraine but can give support lethal and non lethal support. 

People in Russia are protesting and getting arrested unlike here their people see this as wrong.

I think Biden is doing an incredible job in bringing everybody together diplomatically and spends a lot of time supporting Zelensky in many, many ways. (see article in the NYT today) And  what an amazing guy Zelensky  is!

Here is an amusing twitter entry from the countryside of Ukraine:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2022/feb/26/can-i-tow-you-back-to-russia-ukrainian-confronts-soldiers-by-broken-armoured-vehicle-video


And I see that one of Putin's big supporters is weeping on TV because he can't go to his two
villas just up the road from George anymore.

And I see that Dump (sorry, Trump) is being an idiot- and a dangerous one - as usual

https://people.com/politics/african-students-fleeing-ukraine-prevented-crossing-border/

[size=48]African Students Fleeing Ukraine Claim Discrimination at Poland Border: 'We're Not Getting Any Help'
"They're prioritizing Ukrainians," medical student Korrine Sky told Insider
By Shafiq NajibFebruary 28, 2022 09:33 AM[/size]

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CREDIT: WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP/GETTY
As thousands of people in Ukraine flee the country following Russia's invasion, African students are reportedly speaking out that they face discrimination at the border of Poland while attempting to escape to safety. 
Black people say they have had issues using public transportation to get to the the borders, while others say they have not been permitted to cross into other countries, according to Insider. 
Korrine Sky, a 26-year-old medical student living in Ukraine, told Insider that African students were told of an alleged "Ukrainians first" policy when they struggled to move out of the country.
RELATED: U.S. Embassy Warns Americans in Russia to Consider Leaving 'Immediately' amid Ukraine Invasion
"Some people have gone to get buses, but they're not allowing Black people basically onto the buses," she said. "They're prioritizing Ukrainians. That's what they say."

These accounts of discrimination are based on anecdotes from those people trying to leave and it remains unclear which government authority may be responsible, if any. Additional details were not available.
Due to the situation, Sky says she has been helping coordinate escape routes for hundreds of African students trapped in Ukraine.
"I'm very, very afraid," she told Insider. "We're not getting any help from any of the embassies. They have pretty much just said, 'Save yourselves.' "


Thousands of African students travel to Ukraine to study because of its affordable education in medicine, engineering and other technical-related fields.

Percy Ohene-Yeboah, an engineering major from Ghana, told Reuters that he is currently stuck in the country with nowhere to go. As Russia's attacks continue, he has settled in the basement of a church, where spoke to the outlet via phone. 
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
"In a situation like this, you're on your own. You've got to find the best way to find refuge for yourself," he said, adding that he has received no help from his government at home. "It's now that the reality is really hitting me. I think for me, it's a bit too late for evacuation and all those things."
Russia began an invasion of Ukraine last week, according to the Ukraine government, with forces moving from the north, east, and south. The attack is still evolving, but explosions and airstrikes have been reported, with threats mounting against the capital, Kyiv, a city of 2.8 million people.
While the ongoing conflict between the two European regions intensified, at least 150,000 Ukrainians have fled the country for safety, according to the Associated Press.
RELATED: 'Just Total Fiction': How Putin Is Using Nazi Propaganda to Defend Invasion of Ukraine

BBC correspondent Stephanie Hegarty tweeted on Saturday about a Nigerian student, who claimed Ukrainian guards at the Ukraine-Poland border were preventing Black people from crossing.
"A Nigerian medical student at Poland/Ukraine border (Medyka-Shehyni) told me she has been waiting 7hrs to cross, she says border guards are stopping black people and sending them to the back of the queue, saying they have to let 'Ukrainians' through first," Hegarty wrote.
"A student I just spoke with says it was Ukrainian soldiers, not Polish border guards telling him this," she added in her Twitter thread. "Polish border force spokesperson told me Poland is allowing anyone who comes to the Ukraine border entry to Poland."
RELATED VIDEO: Maks Chmerkovskiy Shares New Updates from Ukraine, Says Situation is 'Pretty Dire'








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An African student, who managed to make it to the border, shared a similar account on Twitter: "Their Police and Army refused to let Africans cross they only allow Ukrainian."
"Some have slept here for 2 days under this scorching cold weather, while many have gone back to Lviv," the user added. 
The student also posted a video that appears to show a guard at the border holding a gun and allegedly threatening to shoot. 

Other African students have expressed fear and desperation on social media amid the ongoing crisis.
South African student Vukile Dlamini, who also spoke to Insider, tweeted last week, "We would have loved to go back home, we can't the airports are closed, we are evacuating from city to city trying to leave the country on foot or by car."
"As foreigners in the country, we do not know what will happen next but God will never leave us, not now."
RELATED: U.S. Embassy Warns Americans in Russia to Consider Leaving 'Immediately' amid Ukraine Invasion

On Sunday, President Vladimir Putin put his nuclear forces on increased alert as tensions continued to escalate with the United States and Europe over the conflict, Associated Press reports.
According to CNN, a Ukrainian delegation will meet with a Russian delegation on Monday at the Ukraine-Belarus border following assurances from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The Russian attack on Ukraine is an evolving story, with information changing quickly. Follow PEOPLE's complete coverage of the war here, including stories from citizens on the ground and ways to help.

PAN - Those tweets were amusing - and heartening - to know the Ukrainian people still have their sense of humor. What I also found interesting were the Youtube videos of "captured" Russian soldiers who claim they were lied to about what they were going to do in Ukraine. They thought they were just going on maneuvers - not invading a sovereign country. One of them said they were being used as cannon fodder. They just want to go home, but were told if they tried to they could be shot. What a horrible way to treat the men and women who offer their lives to defend their country.

I am always astonished when people say that they never thought Putin could invade another country.
For weeks politicians went to Moscow to bid Putin not to start a war, and he always said that he has no intention to do so.
Putin had been a highly decorated KGB (Russian secret service) in the GDR in the 1970s and 1980s and speaks perfect German. When Angela Merkel came for a srate visit some years ago, he had his two big dogs in his conference room although he knew (or more likely because he knew) that she was terrified of this dog breed. He managed to expand his presidency which had been limited before, and he already invaded the Krim, a Ukrainian peninsula.

I think he's completely ruthless (I guess that's why Trump admires him) and always wouldn't put it past him.

Totally agree, Carol.  All the more reason to admire everything the Ukrainian people are             doing to fight back- including the domestic manufacture of Molotov cocktails! 

    Very pleased to see that Germany is now joining the countries supplying help of all sorts to
    Ukraine.

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