|
|
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
Van Cortlandt Park Alliance - Tonight's Movie Canceled Due to Rain
Monday, July 24, 2023
Justice Department Files Complaint Against the State of Texas for Illegally Placing Floating Buoy Barrier in the Rio Grande
The Justice Department today filed a civil complaint against the State of Texas because the state has built a floating barrier, consisting of buoys strung together, in the Rio Grande River without the federal authorization that is legally required under the Rivers and Harbors Act. The complaint seeks to enjoin the building of the barrier and to require the state to remove it.
“We allege that Texas has flouted federal law by installing a barrier in the Rio Grande without obtaining the required federal authorization,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “This floating barrier poses threats to navigation and public safety and presents humanitarian concerns. Additionally, the presence of the floating barrier has prompted diplomatic protests by Mexico and risks damaging U.S. foreign policy.”
“The Rivers and Harbors Act is clear in prohibiting the placement of any unauthorized barriers or obstructions in the Rio Grande and other navigable waters of the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We intend to seek the appropriate legal remedies, including the removal of such obstructions in the Rio Grande.”
“The Rio Grande is a significant stretch of the southern border of our country,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas. “We must all recognize that there are laws and policies in place – both domestic and international – to ensure the safety and security of everyone working, living and traveling along the river. These laws cannot be ignored, and my office will take and support the appropriate legal action to uphold them.”
The complaint alleges that, beginning earlier this month, Texas directed the placement of a floating barrier – buoys four to six feet in diameter strung together – in the Rio Grande, approximately two miles south of the Camino Real International Bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas. Governor Abbott has said the state may build more barriers as part of a broader effort called “Operation Lone Star,” which also includes placing concertina wire near the U.S.-Mexico border.
The complaint is lodged in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas.
The case is being litigated by the Environmental Defense Section of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Federal Grand Jury Charges Three in Molotov Cocktail Attack Last Year on Planned Parenthood Clinic
Two Defendants Arraigned, Third Defendant Arrested Late Last Week in Florida
Two California men now named in a four-count federal grand jury indictment were arraigned earlier today on charges alleging they conducted a firebombing attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic in Orange County in March 2022.
The two defendants arraigned today are Chance Brannon, 23, of San Juan Capistrano, an active-duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, and Tibet Ergul, 21, of Irvine.
A third defendant now charged in this case – Xavier Batten, 21, of Brooksville, Florida – was arrested Friday by special agents with the FBI. Batten made his initial appearance on Friday in the Middle District of Florida. He was ordered held without bond pending trial.
The indictment, returned on July 14 and unsealed Friday, charges all three defendants with one count of conspiracy and one count of malicious destruction of property by fire and explosion. Additionally, Brannon and Ergul both are charged with one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device and one misdemeanor count of intentional damage to a reproductive health services facility, which is a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
According to the indictment, in February and March of 2022, the defendants plotted to throw a Molotov cocktail at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa. Brannon and Ergul allegedly chose the target property, obtained the materials necessary to construct a Molotov cocktail, assembled the destructive device, then, during the early morning hours of March 13, 2022, threw the ignited Molotov cocktail at the clinic. The device struck the clinic entrance.
Batten allegedly advised and directed Brannon regarding how to build the Molotov cocktail.
As a result of the fire, the Planned Parenthood Costa Mesa health care clinic was forced to close the following morning and cancel approximately 30 appointments.
Security videos described in court documents show that two men wearing hooded sweatshirts and face masks approached the Planned Parenthood facility at approximately 1 a.m. the day of the attack, ignited a device, and threw the flaming device at the front door of the building. According to court documents, “The device landed against a southern wall next to the glass door and erupted into a fire, which spread up the wall and across the ceiling above the glass door.”
The Costa Mesa Police Department and Fire Department responded to the scene and extinguished the fire. An analysis of evidence collected at the scene showed that the glass container and other materials contained gasoline.
The conspiracy and malicious destruction counts each carry a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The count of possession of an unregistered destructive device is punishable by up to 10 years. The intentional damage to a reproductive health facility charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of one year in federal prison.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California, Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI Counterterrorism Division and Assistant Director in Charge Donald Alway of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are conducting the ongoing investigation in this matter. The Costa Mesa Police Department provided substantial assistance.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Attorney General James Leads Coalition to Expand Language Access for Severe Weather Emergency Alerts
Following Multiple Severe Weather Emergencies, Coalition Urges FCC to Expand Access to Lifesaving Alerts for Extreme Weather Events
New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 16 attorneys general and New York City in calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to expand language access for critical government alerts sent to cell phones, known as Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs). In a comment letter, the coalition acknowledges the important steps FCC has taken to expand access to WEAs but notes that this proposal would require wireless companies to use machine translation rather than human translation for WEAs and would only include translations for 13 languages. Following multiple severe weather emergencies in New York and across the country, Attorney General James and the coalition urge FCC to adopt its alternative proposal to use human translators, which are far more reliable, instead of machine translation, and to increase the number of available languages from 13 to at least 25.
“In just the last few weeks, New Yorkers have been hammered by violent storms, flash flooding, and extreme heat, and receiving Wireless Emergency Alerts during these emergencies can be the difference between life and death,” said Attorney General James. “The next severe weather event is a matter of when, not if. It is critical that this potentially lifesaving information be transmitted to the millions of New Yorkers — and Americans nationwide — who are not proficient in English. I applaud the steps FCC has taken thus far and urge them to expand language access even further to ensure no one is left behind.”
The FCC proposes the use of machine translation applications on cell phones that would translate English WEAs to a user’s preferred language without any review by human translators. However, machine translations are not always reliable. A recent joint study by UCLA and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center found that the accuracy rate of machine translations from English varied widely for different languages — from 94 percent accuracy to as low as 55 percent accuracy.
During severe weather emergencies, which are increasingly fueled by climate change, current and accurate information can be critical to survival. Even a slim chance of error in translation could have severe consequences. Instead, the coalition endorses the FCC’s alternative approach of using alert templates for various emergency situations. Those templates would be created by humans, pre-installed on cell phones, and activated when an English-language WEA is received by the phone.
If FCC moves forward with its proposal to include only 13 languages, immigrant communities in New York and nationwide with high rates of Limited English Proficiency (LEP) would be excluded from WEAs. To reach more of these communities now and in the future, Attorney General James and the coalition recommend that WEAs be supported in all languages spoken by at least 300,000 people in the U.S. over five years old — a total of more than 25 non-English languages. The coalition also urges FCC to consider adding additional languages every few years based on the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data on spoken languages and LEP rates.
WEAs remain the most critical method of alerting residents to potential weather emergencies. The New York State Office of Emergency Management and New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) both send emergency alerts for severe weather and other emergencies via automated text messages, phone calls, e-mails, or social media, and NYCEM’s alert system NotifyNYC can send messages in 13 languages in addition to English. These opt-in systems’ reach is currently limited by a lack of awareness and the need to sign up in order to receive alerts, whereas WEAs automatically reach 75 percent of all active cell phone users in the United States.
Joining Attorney General James in filing these comments are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the City of New York.
This FCC rulemaking process was prompted in part by Attorney General James’ efforts to advocate for increased language accessibility for WEAs. In March 2022, citing the deadly aftermath of Hurricane Ida in New York City, which disproportionately affected immigrants from Asia with limited English proficiency, Attorney General James sent a letter to the National Weather Service calling for increased language accessibility. The NWS Acting Director at the time told the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) that NWS supports the transmission of its WEAs in many languages but the FCC would need to establish new rules for use of languages beyond English and Spanish. In October 2022, Attorney General James sent a letter to FCC’s Chair and the wireless industry urging them to work together to swiftly expand language accessibility for severe weather alerts.