House leaders ‘alarmed’ federal officers policing protests
Top leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives said July 19 they were “alarmed” by the Trump administration’s tactics against protesters in Portland, Oregon, and other cities, including Washington, D.C., and called on federal inspectors to investigate.
The Democratic lawmakers are seeking an investigation “into the use of federal law enforcement agencies by the Attorney General and the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security to suppress First Amendment protected activities.”
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said the presence of federal agents is exacerbating tensions. President Donald Trump has decried the demonstrations, and Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf blasted the protesters as “lawless anarchists.”
Post reports misconduct allegations against DC NFL team
The Washington Post reported Thursday that 15 female former employees of the city’s NFL franchise said they were sexually harassed during their time with the team.
Three members of the front office are no longer with the organization, and owner Dan Snyder hired a District of Columbia law firm to review the club’s culture, policies and allegations of workplace misconduct.
The allegations come days after the team announced it would drop the ‘Redskins’ name and Indian head logo in response to recent pressure from sponsors and decades of criticism that the name and icon are offensive to Native Americans.
Nuclear weapons testing hot topic 75 years after test
On July 16, 1945, the U.S. military detonated the world’s first atomic bomb in New Mexico, ushering in the nuclear age. Now on the 75th anniversary of the test code-named Trinity, nuclear weapons continue to be a hot political topic, including in Utah, where people and livestock were exposed to radiation from nuclear tests.
The Trump administration has talked about resuming nuclear bomb testing as politicians consider renewing compensation for those still suffering from dangerous radiation exposure during the years of nuclear tests.
Retired Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch called updating legislation to help families who were victim to radiation a “moral imperative,” and nuclear weaponry has an issue in Utah’s 4th Congressional District race between Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams and GOP challenger Burgess Owens.
Iran executes man convicted of spying on US-slain general
Iran executed a man convicted of providing information to the United States and Israel about a prominent Revolutionary Guard general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in January, state TV reported on July 20.
Iran later retaliated for Soleimani’s killing with a ballistic missile strike targeting US forces in Iraq. That same night, the Guard accidentally shot down a Ukrainian jetliner in Tehran, killing 176 people.
Iran has since issued a warrant for the arrest of President Donald Trump and 35 other individuals over the drone strike.
