June 27, 2014

I READ THE NEWS TODAY

Boehner: I’m Suing Obama



Read it at Politico
Saying he is disturbed by President Obama's use of executive orders on everything from immigration to same-sex marriage, Speaker of the House John Boehner said Wednesday that he plans to sue. “The Constitution makes it clear that a president’s job is to faithfully execute the laws. In my view, the president has not faithfully executed the laws,” Boehner said. It’s not clear what the lawsuit will cover, but Boehner said this isn’t about beginning impeachment proceedings.

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Economy Shrinks Most in Five Years




Read it at Bloomberg
The gross domestic product of the U.S. fell at a 2.9 percent annualized rate in the first quarter of 2014, the worst three months since the depths of the recession in 2009. The downward revision by the Commerce Department was not only larger than forecast, but the biggest downward revision since record-keeping began in 1976. The major cause of the slowdown appears to be a drop in health-care spending.

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Supreme Court Says Phones Can’t Be Searched Without a Warrant

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. called cellphones "a pervasive and insistent part of daily life." Stephen Crowley/The New York Times 

N.Y. Times

In a sweeping victory for privacy rights in the digital age, the Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously ruled that the police need warrants to search the cellphones of people they arrest.

While the decision will offer protection to the 12 million people arrested every year, many for minor crimes, its impact will most likely be much broader. The ruling almost certainly also applies to searches of tablet and laptop computers, and its reasoning may apply to searches of homes and businesses and of information held by third parties like phone companies.       

N.Y. Times

NYS: Deal to Reunite Democrats Could Put Them at Helm of State Senate


A group of independent Democrats who share control of the New York State Senate with Republicans agreed on Wednesday to reunite with their fellow Democrats, a move that could shift the balance of power in Albany.
The reconciliation, which was brokered in part by Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City and would take effect after the elections in November, could leave Democrats in full control of the state government as soon as early next year.
Mr. de Blasio, whose attempt to raise taxes on the wealthy was impeded by Senate Republicans this year, had set his sights on flipping the Senate, a move he hoped would pave the way for the city to carry out a liberal policy agenda.
 
 
 Jeffrey D. Klein (Getty)
 
But achieving the agreement required pressure from across New York politics. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo [as part of the deal that allowed Cuomo to receive the Working Party endorsement, Cuomo promised to to use his considerable influence in getting this agreement.] and the leaders of some of the state’s most powerful labor unions banded together with the mayor in an effort to tilt the Senate into Democratic hands, urging Senator Jeffrey D. Klein of the Bronx, the leader of the independent Democrats, to abandon his coalition with the Republicans.