Politico: “The Justice Department has quietly asked Congress for the ability to ask chief judges to detain people indefinitely without trial during emergencies — part of a push for new powers that comes as the novel coronavirus spreads throughout the United States. Documents reviewed by POLITICO detail the department’s requests to lawmakers on a host… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
Coronavirus: The Hammer and the Dance
What the Next 18 Months Can Look Like, if Leaders Buy Us Time, Tomas Pueyo, Medium: “Strong coronavirus measures today should only last a few weeks, there shouldn’t be a big peak of infections afterwards, and it can all be done for a reasonable cost to society, saving millions of lives along the way. If… Continue Reading
Presidential Powers and Response to COVID-19
Presidential Powers and Response to COVID-19. Lawrence O. Gostin, JD; James G. Hodge Jr, JD, LLM; Lindsay F. Wiley, JD, MPH. JAMA. Published online March 18, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.4335 [h/t Mary Whisner] “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) modeling suggests that, without mitigation, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes… Continue Reading
Global Economic Effects of Covid-19: In Brief
EveryCRSReport – Global Economic Effects of Covid-19: In Brief March 13, 2020 – March 16, 2020 – Since the Covid-19 outbreak was first diagnosed, it has spread to over 100 countries and almost all U.S. states. The virus is having a noticeable impact on global economic growth. Estimates so far indicate the virus could trim… Continue Reading
Library of Congress, US Capital, SCOTUS. most venues in NYC, many colleges, schools closed – concerts cancelled
Library of Congress Announces Limited Access to Facilities until April 1, 2020 “Out of an abundance of caution, all Library of Congress buildings and facilities will be closed to the public starting at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 12, until Wednesday, April 1, 2020 to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 coronavirus. Library employees, contractors, authorized… Continue Reading
Waters to Wells Fargo CEO: The Bank You Inherited is Essentially a Lawless Organization
News release: “Following the release of a Majority staff report entitled, “The Real Wells Fargo: Board & Management Failures, Consumer Abuses, and Ineffective Regulatory Oversight,” Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, convened a full Committee hearing with Charles W. Scharf, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President of Wells Fargo… Continue Reading
Workplace Leave and Unemployment Insurance for Individuals Affected by COVID-19
EveryCRSReport – Workplace Leave and Unemployment Insurance for Individuals Affected by COVID-19, March 6, 2020: “This Insight provides a brief overview of the current availability of job-connected assistance to individuals, which may be relevant to the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Specifically, this product discusses workplace leave, paid and unpaid, that may be available… Continue Reading
TIME 100 Women of the Year
“For 72 years, TIME named a Man of the Year. With a few exceptions, it was almost always a man, usually a President or a Prime Minister or perhaps a titan of industry. Throughout history, these are the kinds of men who have wielded influence over the world. In 1999, Man of the Year gave… Continue Reading
New Online Resource: War Powers and Presidential Practice
Just Security – “Today we are excited to announce the release of the War Powers Resolution Reporting Project, a product of the Reiss Center on Law and Security at NYU School of Law. (Bridgeman is the project’s lead author and researcher; Goldbrenner is the executive director of the Reiss Center.) Intended for use by policymakers,… Continue Reading
These 26 words ‘created the internet’
CNN – The US government is coming for them – ” For decades, many of the biggest names in tech have leaned on a little-known law to avoid being held responsible for some of the most controversial content on their platforms. The companies have invoked this federal law, known as Section 230 of the Communications… Continue Reading
When Speakers Are All Ears
When Speakers Are All Ears – Understanding when smart speakers mistakenly record conversations. Daniel J. Dubois (Northeastern University), Roman Kolcun (Imperial College London), Anna Maria Mandalari (Imperial College London), Muhammad Talha Paracha (Northeastern University), David Choffnes (Northeastern University), Hamed Haddadi (Imperial College London) Last updated: 02/14/2020 Summary – Voice assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa, OK… Continue Reading
The Lost 110 Words of Our Constitution
Politico – “The U.S. Constitution is famously short—a mere 7,591 words, including its 27 amendments. That makes it all the more remarkable that 110 of those words have been, in effect, lost to the ages. These forgotten words form Section 2 of the 14th Amendment, which was designed to guard against the infringement of voting… Continue Reading
