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  • Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signs proclamation condemning antisemitism while vetoing bill defining it
    on March 19, 2024 at 7:18 am

    INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoed a bill Monday that would have defined antisemitism in state education code while simultaneously signing a proclamation condemning all forms of antisemitism. The Republican governor cited changes made to the bill in the final days of the legislative session in a news release. Aimed at addressing antisemitism on college campuses, the bill’s opponents argued that early versions of it would penalize people for criticizing Israel. Disagreements between lawmakers in the Republican-controlled state House and Senate threatened to kill the bill before reaching a compromise in the final hours of the legislative session on March 8. This is the second time the state House has tried to pass the legislation; an identical bill died last year after failing to reach a committee hearing in the state Senate. Around the country, similar legislation rose to prominence this session amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The proposal would broadly define antisemitism as religious discrimination, claiming it would “provide educational opportunities free of religious discrimination.” Defined in 2016 by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, antisemitism is “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” The original House bill used the organization’s definition, which its author has since warned against using in law. It also included “contemporary examples of antisemitism” provided by the group, which make explicit references to Israel. These have been adopted by the U.S. Department of State and under former President Donald Trump, through executive order. Over 30 states have adopted the definition in some way either through proclamation, executive order or legislation. State senators, however, passed an amended version of the bill earlier this month that still included the IHRA’s broad definition of antisemitism but deleted the group’s name and examples that include explicit references to Israel. Opponents including the Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network and Jewish Voice for Peace Indiana had argued that such direct references would stifle criticism of Israel in academic settings and activism on campuses in support of Palestinians facing a worsening humanitarian crisis and widespread starvation. The disagreement between the chambers prompted the bill to go to conference committee, a body consisting of lawmakers from both chambers. The committee reached an agreement on the last day of the legislative session to add the IHRA attribution back to the bill but remove the clause with examples. The final version was approved in both chambers with bipartisan support. “The language that emerged in the final days of the legislative session fails to incorporate the entire International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition and its important contemporary examples,” Holcomb said about vetoing the bill. “Additionally, the confusing language included in the bill could be read to exclude those examples.” The Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) said the group supported the final version of the bill after it passed, as did the Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network, which was opposed to the original version over concerns about academic freedom and advocacy. Holcomb’s support wasn’t clear after its passage. Last week, he expressed concern that Indiana would be an “outlier” among other states thanks to the changes and said he wanted to ensure there is no “ambiguity” in Indiana law. Republican Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita called on Holcomb to veto the bill, saying it is “toothless” without the mention of the examples. Holcomb’s proclamation condemning antisemitism cites the IHRA definition and its examples. In a statement, Holcomb said the proclamation “ensures we join numerous states and countries by supporting the entire IHRA definition with its inextricable examples.” The JCRC thanked Holcomb in a statement for his “thoughtful” consideration of “the concerns raised in recent days by national experts and the Attorney General.” The group said it will work closely with lawmakers and the state to “ensure that the guidance of Governor Holcomb’s proclamation is correctly applied to identify and confront antisemitism and meet the needs of Jewish students in K-12 and higher educational settings.” Holcomb has not vetoed a bill since 2022. Lawmakers can easily overturn a veto in Indiana and only need a simple majority to do so. It’s unclear though if or when lawmakers might reconvene. The push to define antisemitism in numerous states predates the Oct. 7 attacks in which Hamas killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, sparking a war that has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians. But the war gave supporters of the push another motivation. This year, governors in Arkansas, Georgia and South Dakota signed measures and a proposal is still awaiting gubernatorial review in Florida. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

  • Blinken to underline ‘ironclad’ support for Philippines as it clashes with China in disputed sea
    on March 19, 2024 at 5:18 am

    MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will underscore Washington’s “ironclad commitment” to its alliance with the Philippines on Tuesday, as clashes between Chinese and Filipino forces in the disputed South China Sea turn more hostile, the U.S. State Department said. Blinken, the latest high-level official to visit the U.S. treaty ally, met his Philippine counterpart, Enrique Manalo Tuesday, before planned meetings with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other top officials in Manila. Next month, President Joe Biden will host Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a White House summit amid growing concerns over increasingly aggressive Chinese actions in the South China Sea and North Korea’s nuclear program. The Chinese coast guard blocked and used water cannons against Philippine vessels in a confrontation two weeks ago that slightly injured a Filipino admiral and four of his sailors near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal. The March 5 faceoff in the high seas also caused two minor collisions between Chinese and Philippine vessels and prompted Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs to summon China’s deputy ambassador to convey a protest against the Chinese coast guard’s actions, which the Philippines said were unacceptable. Washington renewed a warning after the hostilities that it is obligated to defend the Philippines if Filipino forces, ships or aircraft come under an armed attack anywhere in the South China Sea. The Chinese coast guard said that “it took control measures in accordance with the law against Philippine ships that illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to Ren’ai Reef,” the name Beijing uses for Second Thomas Shoal. The Second Thomas Shoal, which is occupied by a small Philippine navy contingent but surrounded by Chinese coast guard ships and other allied vessels, was the site of several tense skirmishes between Chinese and Philippine coast guard ships last year. But Filipino officials said the confrontation earlier this month was particularly serious because of the injuries sustained by its navy personnel and damage to their vessel. In his meetings with Marcos and Manalo, Blinken will “advance shared economic priorities and underscore the United States’ ironclad commitment to the U.S.-Philippine alliance,” the State Department said. They will “discuss areas to deepen U.S.-Philippine cooperation on a range of bilateral and global issues, including on regional peace and stability, human rights and democracy, economic prosperity” among others, the State Department said. Outside the presidential palace, dozens of left-wing activists tore a mock U.S. flag in a noisy rally Tuesday to oppose Blinken’s visit and U.S. involvement in the long-simmering territorial disputes. Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims in the resource-rich and busy waterway, a key global trade route. Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea. In the last decade, China has turned barren reefs into seven islands that now serve as missile-protected island bases, including three with runways, that have bolstered its capability to fortify its territorial claims and patrols. In response, Washington has been strengthening an arc of military alliances and security relationships in the Indo-Pacific, including with the Philippines, Vietnam and other countries at odds with China in the disputed sea. After China effectively seized another disputed atoll, the Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines, in 2012, Manila brought its disputes with Beijing to international arbitration and largely won. China, however, rejected the 2016 ruling of the U.N.-backed tribunal that invalidated its expansive claims on historical grounds and continues to defy the decision. ___ Associated Press journalists Joeal Calupitan and Aaron Favila in Manila contributed to this report. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

  • 6 former Mississippi law officers to be sentenced for torture of 2 Black men
    on March 19, 2024 at 5:18 am

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Six former Mississippi law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty to a long list of state and federal charges for torturing two Black men will be sentenced by a federal judge starting Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Tom Lee will sentence two defendants each day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after twice delaying the proceedings. Each faces the potential of decades behind bars. The former law officers admitted in August to subjecting Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker to numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture. In a January 2023 episode, the group of six burst into a Rankin County home without a warrant and assaulted Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Parker with stun guns, a sex toy and other objects. The terror began on Jan. 24, 2023, with a racist call for extrajudicial violence. A white person phoned Rankin County Deputy Brett McAlpin and complained that two Black men were staying with a white woman at a house in Braxton, Mississippi. McAlpin told Deputy Christian Dedmon, who texted a group of white deputies so willing to use excessive force they called themselves “The Goon Squad.” Once inside, they handcuffed Jenkins and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker and poured milk, alcohol and chocolate syrup over their faces. They forced them to strip naked and shower together to conceal the mess. They mocked the victims with racial slurs and shocked them with stun guns. After a mock execution went awry when Jenkins was shot in the mouth, they devised a coverup that included planting drugs and a gun. False charges stood against Jenkins and Parker for months. Ahead of sentencing, Jenkins and Parker called for the “stiffest of sentences” at a news conference Monday. “It’s been very hard for me, for us,” Jenkins said. “We are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.” Jenkins suffered a lacerated tongue and broken jaw. He still has trouble speaking and eating. Malik Shabazz, an attorney representing both men, said the result of the sentencing hearings could have national implications. “Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker continue to suffer emotionally and physically since this horrific and bloody attack by Rankin County deputies,” Shabazz said. “A message must be sent to police in Mississippi and all over America, that level of criminal conduct will be met with the harshest of consequences.” Months before federal prosecutors announced charges in August 2023, an investigation by The Associated Press linked some of the deputies to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019 that left two dead and another with lasting injuries. The officers charged include McAlpin, Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department and Joshua Hartfield, a Richland police officer. They pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy against rights, obstructions of justice, deprivation of rights under color of law, discharge of a firearm under a crime of violence, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Most of their lawyers did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment Monday. Jason Kirschberg, representing Opdyke, said: “Daniel has accepted responsibility for his actions, and his failures to act. … He has admitted he was wrong and feels deep remorse for the pain he caused the victims.” On the federal charges, Dedmon and Elward each face a maximum sentence of 120 years plus life in prison and $2.75 million in fines. Hartfield faces a possible sentence of 80 years and $1.5 million, McAlpin faces 90 years and $1.75 million, Middleton faces 80 years and $1.5 million, and Opdyke could be sentenced to 100 years with a $2 million fine. The former officers agreed to prosecutor-recommended sentences ranging from five to 30 years in state court, but time served for separate convictions at the state level will run concurrently with the potentially longer federal sentences. The majority-white Rankin County is just east of the state capital, Jackson, home to one of the highest percentages of Black residents of any major U.S. city. The officers warned Jenkins and Parker to “stay out of Rankin County and go back to Jackson or ‘their side’ of the Pearl River,” court documents say, referencing an area with higher concentrations of Black residents. In the gruesome crimes committed by men tasked with enforcing the law, federal prosecutors saw echoes of Mississippi’s dark history, including the 1964 killing of three civil rights workers after a deputy handed them off to the Ku Klux Klan. For months, Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey, whose deputies committed the crimes, said little about the episode. After the officers pleaded guilty in August, Bailey said the officers had gone rogue and promised to change the department. Jenkins and Parker have called for his resignation, and they have filed a $400 million civil lawsuit against the department. ___ Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him at @mikergoldberg. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

  • Pedal coast-to-coast without using a road? New program helps connect trails across the US
    on March 19, 2024 at 5:18 am

    When Mike O’Neil opened his bicycle repair shop in Muncie, Indiana, the Cardinal Greenway trail just outside its window stretched only 2 miles south of the shop. Today, it extends 33 miles (53 kilometers) beyond that, but the ultimate vision is far grander. O’Neil hopes the trail born from eastern Indiana’s old railroad tracks will eventually become a central cog in the proposed Great American Rail-Trail — a continuous network of walking and biking routes spanning from Washington state to Washington, D.C. “As the trail gets longer, more and more people use it,” said O’Neil, who has completed five coast-to-coast bike trips and usually comps the repair costs for out-of-state cyclists visiting his Greenway 500 Bike Shop, which he’s owned for nearly two decades. “It would be a wonderful blessing to have it all connected.” The Biden administration was set to open applications Tuesday for a new grant program that for the first time prioritizes not just building trails but connecting the existing ones. The 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law allowed for as much as $1 billion over five years for the program, but Congress has authorized less than $45 million so far. Still, trail activists say the commitment is almost as important as the dollar figure. “The number is not as big as we want it to be, but the fact it’s happening is huge,” said Brandi Horton from the Rails to Trails Conservancy. “The administration is understanding in a way we’ve never seen before the role that active transportation has in helping people get around the places where they live.” Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said active transportation options provide health benefits and are as important as electric vehicles in limiting greenhouse gas emissions. He recalled biking along trails on the East Coast when he was Delaware’s transportation director and seeing some of the unsafe gaps in the system. “Unless we have these networks fully developed, many people won’t be able to take advantage of it,” Bhatt said. Officials are expecting a highly competitive grant process, including applications from many of the communities along the planned route of the 3,700-mile (5,966-kilometer) Great American Rail-Trail. While the ambitious project currently includes more than 125 completed trails across 12 states and the nation’s capital, significant gaps remain — particularly in rural Western states such as Montana and Wyoming. Michael Kusiek, executive director of the active transportation advocacy group Wyoming Pathways, said reliable trails are especially important for states with rugged terrain. Cyclists and backpackers will often skip routes that aren’t certified as safe, he said. Although state and local governments in rural areas might not prioritize trails the way larger population centers do, Kusiek said the national effort has spurred competition. “I think we’d like to not be the last ones showing up to cross the finish line,” Kusiek said. Wyoming’s northern neighbor of Montana was awarded a $24 million federal grant last week to extend a recreational trail that had been cut off by a highway and overpass. Another Montana segment of the Great American Rail-Trail passes by the 50,000 Silver Dollar Inn in Haugan. Brooke Lincoln, who owns the motel and other businesses nearby, said linking the trails to a national network could be a huge benefit to numerous small towns. “We’re very depressed,” Lincoln said. “We have very little private property. Our timber industry is basically gone, so our economy is becoming more and more recreation-based. The more diverse that base is, the better it’s going to be.” Amanda Cooley, one of the leaders of an initiative to close western Montana’s trail gaps, said residents often don’t understand the importance of such projects until they’re complete. “When you go to a place like Deer Lodge, Montana, people still wave at you at the stop light,” Cooley said. “The pace of life is just a little slower. When you’re a pedestrian or on a bike, it allows you to experience more. It allows you to take more in instead of just flying by.” Railroad tracks established most of the key arteries for the Great American Rail-Trail, but many of the proposed connectors present unique challenges. For example, Ohio and West Virginia have made progress toward completing their trail networks, but the Ohio River separating them is a potentially costly obstacle for both states. A stand-alone recreational bridge connecting Steubenville, Ohio, and East Steubenville, West Virginia, could cost upwards of $35 million, said Mike Paprocki, executive director of the BHJ Metropolitan Planning Commission, which has studied the project. Officials instead are seeking federal funding for a $160 million multimodal bridge for motorized vehicle traffic, with a separate segment for pedestrians and cyclists alongside it. “Without the infrastructure bill, we wouldn’t be having these conversations,” Paprocki said. “We’d be fighting tooth and nail to get money and would probably be left off the food troth.” Some of the efforts to expand trails over former railroad tracks have also been complicated due to legal action. Lindsay Brinton, an attorney for St. Louis-based Lewis Rice, said trails can devalue property and she’s trying to make sure the landowners she represents are justly compensated under the laws that protect their rights. “People are frustrated and disappointed,” Brinton said. “I have lots of clients who live in rural Indiana who say, ‘We don’t want a trail here.’ But that can’t even be factored into the analysis. Nobody cares what the landowners want.” Indiana’s Cardinal Greenway trail stretches 62 miles (100 kilometers) between Marion and Richmond with a several-mile gap in the middle. In many ways, it represents both the future of active transportation and its roots in rail travel. In fact, the nonprofit organization that manages the trail operates out of a former train depot. O’Neil, 57, remains optimistic that eventually the trail passing by his bike shop and stopping just short of the Ohio border will carry cyclists into that state and then all the way to the East Coast. How quickly that will happen, however, is dependent on finding much larger pots of money to fill the gaps. “We’re oh so close,” he said. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

  • Trump backs Kevin McCarthy protege in California special election for former speaker’s seat
    on March 19, 2024 at 4:19 am

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California legislator backed by former President Donald Trump and a sheriff who promises to harden the nation’s porous borders are facing off in a special U.S. House election to complete the remaining term of deposed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which runs through January. State Assembly member Vince Fong, a onetime McCarthy aide who also has his endorsement, and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, both Republicans, are among a cluster of candidates in the solidly conservative district hoping to fill the seat the speaker left vacant when he resigned last year. Because of Trump’s involvement, the race will be watched as a possible proxy vote on the former president’s clout as he heads toward an all-but-certain matchup against President Joe Biden in November. McCarthy’s dramatic fall in the House — he is the only speaker in history to be voted out of the job — left behind a messy race to succeed him that has included an ongoing lawsuit and exposed rivalries within the GOP. Republicans are expected to hold the seat easily, and the party’s fragile majority in the chamber is not at stake. The district, which cuts through the Central Valley farm belt including parts of Bakersfield and Fresno, is the most strongly Republican seat in heavily Democratic California. Republicans occupy only 11 of the state’s 52 House seats, with the one held by McCarthy currently vacant. The election is likely to leave many voters befuddled and draw a sparse turnout, because they just saw some of the same names on the March 5 primary ballot for the full 20th Congressional District term that begins in January. Fong and Boudreaux have advanced to the November election in that contest. The special election only covers the time remaining in McCarthy’s term, running through early next year. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the top-two finishers would be matched in a May 21 election. With nine names on the ballot, it appears unlikely any candidate will surpass that threshold to claim the seat outright Tuesday. Democrats on the ballot include public schoolteacher Marisa Wood, who also sought the full term. It’s possible voters could see Fong and Boudreaux on four different ballots between March and November. Boudreaux’s campaign has been texting voters to remind them that a separate election is taking place Tuesday after getting calls from supporters trying to sort it out. Similarly, Fong’s campaign is alerting voters to the second election just two weeks after the primary. “This is an unusual process,” Fong adviser Ryan Gardiner said. Given the circumstances, the campaign just kept operating after the primary, he said. Trump endorsed Fong in February, calling him “a true Republican.” Boudreaux’s supporters include Ric Grenell, a former acting director of national intelligence in the Trump administration, and Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove of Bakersfield, Fong’s home turf. Fong and Boudreaux occupy much of the same policy terrain, and both are Trump-supporting conservatives. But there is an insider-outsider aspect to the race: Fong is McCarthy’s handpicked choice and a product of his political operation, while the sheriff is not. Their backgrounds also offer a contrast. Fong is a legislator coming out of McCarthy’s orbit who says he is offering “trusted, tested leadership.” He has dominated the race in fundraising. Boudreaux, who is the son of a detective, spotlights his decades of law-and-order experience and says he has “the know-how to keep us safe.” The top issue in the race is the nation’s border crisis. Fong is anchored in Kern County, the most populous swath in the district, while Boudreaux is a familiar name in Tulare and Kings counties. The race could be decided in Fresno County, where the two were narrowly divided in the March 5 primary, according to incomplete results. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com