April 25 AND 26, 2017


News and Views


UNION REP SAYS THEY “HAVE A HARD TIME.” WELL, IF THAT STROLLER HAD HIT THE BABY IT WOULD VERY LIKELY BE DEAD NOW. THEY HAVE TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING BETTER THAN THAT! IF A MOTHER CAN BE CHARGED CRIMINALLY FOR BEING UNAWARE THAT HER THREE-YEAR OLD HAS EXERCISED HIS CIVIL RIGHTS AND RUN OUT THE DOOR WHEN SHE WAS ON THE PHONE, SURELY A NEAR MISS WITH A DANGEROUS OBJECT WHEN HE FORCIBLY YANKED IT FROM HER, IS A CRIME. A $1,000 PAYMENT AND GOING TO FIRST CLASS IS GOOD FOR THE PASSENGER, BUT WHAT ABOUT TWO FREE TRIPS AS WELL? I STILL WANT TO SEE THAT FLIGHT ATTENDANT FIRED, NOT “GROUNDED,” WHATEVER THAT REALLY MEANS.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/flight-attendant-union-american-airlines-response/
CBS NEWS April 26, 2017, 6:20 AM
Flight attendant union leader responds to recent in-flight scuffle

Only on “CBS This Morning,” the president of the union representing American Airlines flight attendants spoke with CBS News correspondent Kris Van Cleave about the recent video that showed one of the airlines’ attendants nearly hitting a woman with a baby stroller as he took it away.

Bob Ross, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said he doesn’t want to make excuses for the video.

“He’s a good flight attendant, he’s been doing this job for a long time,” Ross said. “This is not indicative of the other 26,000 attendants that we represent nor is it indicative of the airline industry as a whole,” Ross said.

Ross says he’s looking at what could have been done differently.

American would not comment on that claim, but the airline did quickly apologize for the incident and grounded the flight attendant. It offered a full refund to the woman with the stroller, a $1,000 voucher and upgrade for her family to first class for the rest of their trip to Argentina.

Caught-on-camera conflicts have put a spotlight on the tense conditions passengers can sometimes face. Over the past few decades, airlines have stuffed more people on each flight while also reducing seat sizes and adding fees that put overhead space at a premium.

“The tensions are definitely higher. Flight attendants, I must say, have a hard job,” said Paul Hudson, president of the website FlyersRights.org.

Hudson says passengers feel they’re paying more for worse service.

“It’s something to endure, not really something to enjoy,” Hudson said. The numbers of cancellations and people bumped from flights are at their lowest levels in decades and complaints last year were down. Still, irritation is running high.

“Yes, it is a pressure cooker right now,” Ross said.

Pressure, Ross says, we’re all feeling.

“Passengers and the flight attendants are in this together. We’re a team in order to get the aircraft out on time, and to get loaded and do it in a safe and secure and comfortable manner,” Ross said.



I WISH THE TRUMP BUSINESSES WERE COMPARABLE TO AMERICAN STANDARDS, BUT THAT’S WHY WE WANT TO HAVE OUR FACTORY IN A PLACE LIKE CHINA. RIGHT?

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/workers-chinese-factory-ivanka-trump-s-clothing-paid-62-week-n751431
NEWS APR 26 2017, 3:01 PM ET
Workers at Chinese Factory for Ivanka Trump’s Clothing Paid $62 a Week: Report
by ERIK ORTIZ

Conditions at a Chinese factory where designer clothes are manufactured, including for Ivanka Trump's fashion line, were not entirely up-to-snuff for the 80 workers there: They punched in nearly 60 hours a week — many making just over $60 in that period, according to an outside audit last fall.

That same facility was producing its clothes for New York-based G-III Apparel Group Ltd., which has the exclusive license to manufacture blouses, dresses and other items under Trump's label.

The Fair Labor Association's report, released Monday, does not specifically mention the name of the factory or say whether workers had been tasked with a Trump-related project during the time of the audit. G-III also has partnerships with Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Kenneth Cole and Karl Lagerfeld, according to its website.

Play Ivanka Trump: Ivanka Trump: 'A global humanitarian crisis is happening' 2:37

In a statement provided to NBC News on Wednesday, G-III said its factories are "routinely audited" by its "highly experienced team," as well as third-party groups such as the Fair Labor Association, which monitors the industry.

The association said auditors in October uncovered two-dozen violations under the U.N. International Labor Organization, including that overtime work exceeded the legally required limit of 36 hours per month. Workers were found to have accumulated another 42 hours to as much as 82 hours per month in the past year.

Related: Trump's Made in America Slogan Doesn't Fit Ivanka's Clothing Line

The audit said that the factory's workers took home the equivalent of roughly $255 to $284 in U.S. dollars a month. The Fair Labor Association's report, however, did not find the factory was in violation of failing to pay minimum wages.

G-III said the infractions that were discovered have been corrected or will be corrected: "Our goal is to always attain and maintain the best labor conditions possible in these factories."

A spokeswoman for Trump forwarded a request for a response about the report to her fashion company, which did not immediately comment Wednesday.

President Donald Trump's eldest daughter stepped down from her management position with her company in March in order to take an unpaid advisory role in the White House. She was in Germany this week for a high-powered conference on women's empowerment, and has made an issue of equal pay in the workplace.

President Trump has also been criticized over reports that merchandise under his Trump Organization brand have been made outside the U.S., including in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Last week, he signed an executive order to tighten restrictions on federal agencies so that they buy American-made products first.

He has repeatedly urged American companies to manufacture in the U.S., and has slammed China for allegedly stealing U.S. jobs.

Conditions at a Chinese factory where designer clothes are manufactured, including for Ivanka Trump's fashion line, were not entirely up-to-snuff for the 80 workers there: They punched in nearly 60 hours a week — many making just over $60 in that period, according to an outside audit last fall.

That same facility was producing its clothes for New York-based G-III Apparel Group Ltd., which has the exclusive license to manufacture blouses, dresses and other items under Trump's label.

The Fair Labor Association's report, released Monday, does not specifically mention the name of the factory or say whether workers had been tasked with a Trump-related project during the time of the audit. G-III also has partnerships with Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Kenneth Cole and Karl Lagerfeld, according to its website.

Play Ivanka Trump: 'A global humanitarian crisis is happening' 2:37

In a statement provided to NBC News on Wednesday, G-III said its factories are "routinely audited" by its "highly experienced team," as well as third-party groups such as the Fair Labor Association, which monitors the industry.

The association said auditors in October uncovered two-dozen violations under the U.N. International Labor Organization, including that overtime work exceeded the legally required limit of 36 hours per month. Workers were found to have accumulated another 42 hours to as much as 82 hours per month in the past year.

Related: Trump's Made in America Slogan Doesn't Fit Ivanka's Clothing Line

The audit said that the factory's workers took home the equivalent of roughly $255 to $284 in U.S. dollars a month. The Fair Labor Association's report, however, did not find the factory was in violation of failing to pay minimum wages.

G-III said the infractions that were discovered have been corrected or will be corrected: "Our goal is to always attain and maintain the best labor conditions possible in these factories."

Online Sales For Ivanka Trump Brand Drop 26 Percent In January

Ivanka Trump brand boots for sale at the Century 21 department store Feb. 10, 2017, in New York City. Drew Angerer / Getty Images, file

A spokeswoman for Trump forwarded a request for a response about the report to her fashion company, which did not immediately comment Wednesday.

President Donald Trump's eldest daughter stepped down from her management position with her company in March in order to take an unpaid advisory role in the White House. She was in Germany this week for a high-powered conference on women's empowerment, and has made an issue of equal pay in the workplace.

President Trump has also been criticized over reports that merchandise under his Trump Organization brand have been made outside the U.S., including in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Last week, he signed an executive order to tighten restrictions on federal agencies so that they buy American-made products first.

He has repeatedly urged American companies to manufacture in the U.S., and has slammed China for allegedly stealing U.S. jobs.

Ivanka Trump's own clothing line has been targeted by activists, who called for boycotts earlier this year on companies that support the Trump brand. While Nordstrom said it was dropping the line because it was a poor performer, G-III's annual report filed earlier this month revealed the brand had a strong 2016 — with a $17.9 million increase in net sales.

Erik Ortiz ERIK ORTIZ TWITTERGOOGLE PLUSEMAIL
TOPICS WORLD, BUSINESS NEWS, POLITICS NEWS
FIRST PUBLISHED APR 26 2017, 3:01 PM E



A NEW PROGRESSIVE FACE – STEPHEN JAFFE V. NANCY PELOSI

http://www.lawyers.com/san-francisco/california/Stephen-R-Jaffe-224754-a/
Areas of Law

Sexual Harassment
Discrimination
Employment Law - Employee
Labor Law
Whistleblower/Qui Tam
Labor & Employment
Credentials

Position
Attorney

Admission Details

Admitted in 1971, California, 1972, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit and U.S. District Court, Northern and Central Districts of California
1976, U.S. Supreme Court
1981, Oregon (inactive) and U.S. District Court, District of Oregon
1982, District of Columbia
1983, U.S. District... Read more

Law School Attended
Wayne State University School of Law
Class of 1970
J.D.

University Attended
University of Michigan
Class of 1967
B.A.
Political Science


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5.0/5.0 submitted on 05/19/14
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5.0/5.0
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http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-nancy-pelosi-just-got-a-challenger-and-1493224950-htmlstory.html
APRIL 26, 2017, 9:55 A.M.
Nancy Pelosi just got a challenger and he's a 'pretty hard-core' Bernie Sanders supporter
Christine Mai-Duc

San Francisco attorney Stephen R. Jaffe is a lifelong Democrat and he intends to do what no Democrat has been able to do so far: make it to a runoff election against House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Jaffe, 71, is an employment attorney who became a volunteer for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign last year.

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FOR THE RECORD

1:08 p.m.: A previous version of this post misstated Jaffe's age as 72.

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"I was a pretty hard-core Bernie supporter," said Jaffe, who gave money to the campaign and volunteered during the Nevada caucuses. He was one of two attorneys who filed for an injunction on behalf of Sanders supporters in the California primary, requesting "re-votes" and an extension of the voter registration deadline. (The request was denied.)

Jaffe said he was "devastated" by Sanders' loss to Hillary Clinton in the primary season and that Sanders, in part, inspired him to run. He says he supports single-payer healthcare and criticized Pelosi for raising money from corporations and special interests.

Pelosi, the highest-ranking Democrat in the House, has never faced a serious challenger on the left in her liberal San Francisco district. Preston Picus, another Sanders supporter who ran as a no-party-preference candidate, came the closest when he received 19% of the vote in November, according to the California Target Book.

"I know that Ms. Pelosi's strategy has been to essentially ignore anyone who has challenged her, but I anticipate she'll have a more difficult time doing that with my candidacy," Jaffe said in an interview. He thinks if local, progressive activists can propel him to a runoff with Pelosi, he'll have a "quite realistic chance" of winning.

"There's a rumbling, a wave of activism here by people who have really never stepped forward before."




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-sanctuary-city-order-temporary-block-california-judge/
CBS/AP April 25, 2017, 5:05 PM
Trump "sanctuary city" executive order blocked by California judge

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge on Tuesday blocked any attempt by the Trump administration to withhold funding from “sanctuary cities” that do not cooperate with U.S. immigration officials, saying the president has no authority to attach new conditions to federal spending.

What is a sanctuary city? And what happens now?

U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued the preliminary injunction in two lawsuits -- one brought by the city of San Francisco, the other by Santa Clara County -- against an executive order targeting communities that protect immigrants from deportation.

The injunction will stay in place while the lawsuits work their way through court.

The judge rejected the administration’s argument that the order applies only to a relatively small pot of money and said President Trump cannot set new conditions on spending approved by Congress.

DOJ threatens “sanctuary cities” with loss of grant money over immigration enforcement

U.S. leaders split over Trump's crackdown on "sanctuary cities"
Play VIDEO
U.S. leaders split over Trump's crackdown on "sanctuary cities"

Even if the president could do so, those conditions would have to be clearly related to the funds at issue and not coercive, as the executive order appears to be, Orrick said.

“Federal funding that bears no meaningful relationship to immigration enforcement cannot be threatened merely because a jurisdiction chooses an immigration enforcement strategy of which the president disapproves,” the judge said.

In a statement provided to CBS News, the Justice Department points to the fact that it can still withhold federal grants from “sanctuary cities”:

The Department of Justice previously stated to the Court, and reiterates now, that it will follow the law with respect to regulation of sanctuary jurisdictions. Accordingly, the Department will continue to enforce existing grant conditions and will continue to enforce [the executive order]. Further, the order does not purport to enjoin the Department’s independent legal authority to enforce the requirements of federal law applicable to communities that violate federal immigration law or federal grant conditions.

It was the third major setback for the administration on immigration policy.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus says the ruling is another case of “the 9th Circuit going bananas” in response to the 9th Circuit Court based in San Francisco, where judges have also ruled against Trump’s travel bans.

The administration has often criticized the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Orrick does not sit on that court but his district is in the territory of the appeals court, which has ruled against one version of Trump’s travel ban.

“The idea that an agency can’t put in some reasonable restriction on how some of these moneys are spent is something that will be overturned eventually, and we will win at the Supreme Court level at some point,” Priebus said.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said the president was “forced to back down.”

“This is why we have courts -- to halt the overreach of a president and an attorney general who either don’t understand the Constitution or chose to ignore it,” he said in a statement.

Santa Clara County Counsel James Williams said the ruling will allow cities and counties across the country to prepare budgets without the “unconstitutional threat of federal defunding hanging over our heads.”

President Trump signs order to strip sanctuary cities of federal funding
Play VIDEO
President Trump signs order to strip sanctuary cities of federal funding

A Justice Department attorney, Chad Readler, had defended the president’s executive order as an attempt to use his “bully pulpit” to “encourage communities and states to comply with the law.”

Readler also said the order applied to only three Justice Department and Homeland Security grants that would affect less than $1 million for Santa Clara County and possibly no money for San Francisco.

But the judge disagreed, saying the order was written broadly to “reach all federal grants” and potentially jeopardized hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to San Francisco and Santa Clara.

He cited comments by Mr. Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions as evidence that the order was intended to target a wide array of federal funding. He said the president himself had called it a “weapon” to use against recalcitrant cities.

The government hasn’t cut off any money yet or declared any communities to be sanctuary cities. But the Justice Department sent letters last week warning communities to prove they are in compliance. California was told it could lose $18.2 million.

“Sanctuary cities” is a loosely defined term for jurisdictions that don’t comply with immigration authorities.

The Trump administration argued that the executive order applied narrowly to cities that forbid officials to report a person’s immigration status to federal authorities. Orrick said it could also be construed to apply to cities that refuse to hold jail inmates for immigration authorities.

The Trump administration says that sanctuary cities allow dangerous criminals back on the street and that the order is needed to keep the country safe. San Francisco and other sanctuary cities say turning local police into immigration officers erodes the trust that is needed to get people to report crime.

The order also has led to lawsuits by Seattle; two Massachusetts cities, Lawrence and Chelsea; and a third San Francisco Bay Area government, the city of Richmond. The San Francisco and Santa Clara County suits were the first to get a hearing before a judge.

Photograph -- ap-17025826672680.jpg, Moina Shaiq holds a sign at a rally outside of City Hall in San Francisco, Wed., Jan. 25, 2017. President Trump moved aggressively to tighten the nation’s immigration controls Wednesday, signing executive actions to jumpstart construction of his promised U.S.-Mexico border wall and cut federal grants for immigrant-protecting “sanctuary cities.” AP

On Tuesday, mayors from several cities threatened with the loss of federal grants emerged from a meeting with Sessions saying they remain confused about how to prove their police are in compliance with immigration policies - a necessary step for them to receive grant money.

The sanctuary city order was among a flurry of immigration measures Mr. Trump has signed since taking office in January, including a ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries and a directive calling for a wall on the Mexican border.

Trump administration challenges travel ban ruling
Play VIDEO
Trump administration challenges travel ban ruling

A federal appeals court blocked the travel ban. The administration then revised it, but the new version also is stalled in court.

Sanctuary cities offer safe harbor for undocumented immigrants who might otherwise be deported by federal immigration law enforcement officials. There are over 140 sanctuary jurisdictions -- cities and counties -- across the U.S., including at least 37 cities -- San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Miami and Los Angeles, among others.

In 2016, a Justice Department inspector general’s report investigated how much in Justice Department federal grants some sanctuary jurisdictions receive (as of Mar. 2016). Over 60 percent of the funding goes to 10 jurisdictions identified by the report:
</i>
Connecticut: $69,305,444
California $132,409,635
Orleans Parish, Louisiana: $4,737,964
New York, New York: $60,091,942
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: $16,505,312
Cook County, Illinois: $6,018,544
Chicago, Illinois: $28,523,222
Miami-Dade County, Florida: $10,778,815
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: $7,539,572
Clark County, Nevada: $6,257,951



ASKING ALL WHITES TO RAT ON ILLEGAL ALIENS IS REPULSIVE ENOUGH, BUT TO GO ON TO SAY THAT THE USA IS A “WHITE NATION,” IS UNACCEPTABLE. ONE, THAT’S WHITE SUPREMACIST IN ITS’ MEANING, AND TWO, THIS IS SIMPLY NOT A “WHITE NATION,” THE LAST TIME I LOOKED. WISHES ARE NOT HORSES!

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-campus-outraged-over-flier-addressing-white-americans/
CBS NEWS April 25, 2017, 7:44 PM
Texas campus outraged over flier addressing "white Americans"

ARLINGTON, Texas -- A controversial flier appeared on the University of Texas at Arlington campus that asks “white Americans” to report “any and all” illegal immigrants, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth reports.

The school is taking down the fliers after students said they appeared on a message board inside the university commons.

170425-cbs-dfw-uta-campus-flier.jpg
A view of the controversial flier posted around the University of Texas at Arlington. CBS DALLAS / FORT WORTH
By bloodandsoil.org.

The group behind the message appears to be protesting the possibility of UTA becoming a “sanctuary campus.” The term “sanctuary city” refers to cities that follow certain procedures to shelter illegal immigrants.

Judge blocks Trump's order on sanctuary cities
Play VIDEO
Judge blocks Trump's order on sanctuary cities

“I feel like it’s ignorant people trying to incite some sort of rally or some sort of riot to get people off campus or get people to go to their way,” said student Kasandra Moreno. “But with such a diverse campus, it doesn’t make sense to do that here.”

The fliers include the website of “Vanguard America,” a white supremacist group, but it’s still unclear if members are responsible for the fliers. CBS Dallas / Fort Worth did not receive a reply from the group when asked about the notice.

“We are a very open and welcoming campus,” said Moreno. “I’ve been here four years. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

School officials say the signs violate campus policy, and they “expect high standards of civil discourse.”

One student saw the flier’s message and is glad it’s been taken down.

“It’s very offensive because I was actually born in Nigeria and I came here when I was a baby,” said student Chineme Obikudu. “It resonates with me in a negative way.”



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ivanka-trump-berlin-germany-angela-merkel/
CBS NEWS April 25, 2017, 7:13 AM
Ivanka Trump heads to Berlin for women's conference, time with Merkel

Ivanka Trump’s trip to Germany is no ordinary trip by an ordinary White House official. In fact, it’s three visits in one -- by Ivanka Trump, the first daughter; by Ivanka Trump, the presidential adviser; and by Ivanka Trump, the businesswoman. It’s complicated -- just like the state of U.S.-German relations right now.

On the face of it, she has gone to Berlin for a high-powered conference on promoting the role of working women. It’s one of her pet issues. She’s also here because Angela Merkel knows an opportunity when she sees one, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips.

When the German chancellor went to Washington, D.C. to meet Ivanka’s father, President Trump, the atmosphere bordered on icy.

So when Merkel met Ivanka and invited her to the Berlin women’s conference, that invitation was about more than playing to the first daughter’s interests.

Political analysts in Germany, like Josef Braml, say it was a way to use a side door to get into the White House.

“You take what you get,” Braml said. When asked what that access gets the chancellor, Braml said, “You get access to Donald Trump and maybe a moderating effect to Donald Trump because he’s also surrounded by people who are less moderate and seem to be more radical.”

Ivanka, the special adviser to the president, told “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King that when it comes to trying to influence her father on issues she cares about, she’s not shy.

Ivanka Trump discusses her critics and new role in the White House
Play VIDEO
Ivanka Trump discusses her critics and new role in the White House

“This particular title was about giving critics the comfort that I’m holding myself to that highest ethical standard. But I’ll weigh in with my father on, on the issues I feel strongly about,” Ivanka said.

However, this visit isn’t about issues. It’s about trying to jumpstart a stalled relationship.