Latest news with #FifthDistrict
CBS News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Keller: Rep. Katherine Clark shares her thoughts on Trump's "big beautiful bill"
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global. Voters don't always expect their political leaders to act benignly. They are often called on to "fight" for various things, "get tough" on crime or other issues, and so on. But you rarely hear folks clamoring for cruelty from their elected officials. Yet that's exactly what House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Fifth District) said her Republican counterparts are up to with their so-called "big beautiful bill" cutting taxes and budgets. In an interview with WBZ-TV, Clark said "it was very obvious from early on in the President's term that this was the play, huge cuts, historic cuts to health care, especially the Medicaid program. And then they were going to go after food programs, school lunches, Meals on Wheels, Women and Infants food programs, all to pay for tax breaks for the 900 billionaires in this country. And then on top of it, what we've seen is they also are adding almost $3 trillion to our deficit." The bill drew fire from some House GOP members before passing with near-unanimous partisan support and being shipped to the Senate, where a similar process is now underway. But Clark said she finds criticisms from Republican representatives and senators hollow. "We have different members of the House Republican Party saying, 'I can't go along with how big these Medicaid cuts are,' right? Then they vote for it. We have different members who say the cuts aren't large enough, I can't expand the deficit like this, but they fall in line. And this is an established pattern that is so harmful to the American people." Clark said she believes many of her Republican colleagues believe they are vulnerable to political backlash. "I think they are ducking for cover in a lot of these situations. I think the object here is to not focus on the cruelty and not level with the American people. We've seen members of the House write letters to the speaker saying, 'I could never support these cuts to Medicaid,' and now what we're seeing is that's expanded. They're cutting Medicare by half a trillion dollars, Medicaid by $800 billion. That's 16 million people when you add up the cuts to Medicaid, the ACA program, the children's insurance program, 16 million Americans they are kicking off of health care and for what? Not for some common good. But when people are telling us that they're not making it, 60% of American households are struggling to meet the basic needs for their family, how do we create jobs by taking away health care and taking away food programs?" And the second-ranking House Democrat said she believes the Republicans will pay a political price after promising during the campaign to focus on improving the economic status of voters. "They have gone a 180, the exact opposite," said Clark. "They have betrayed their own voters. They said cost of living is what we're going to address on day one. And between this horrendous bill and what we're seeing with tariffs, we are going to see a marked increase in cost of living for the American people. I don't know what their political view of this is, but it is an incredibly cruel bill, and it's saying to the American people that the Republican Party doesn't value them and is not going to work for them." Clark also discussed the state of play on issues of housing and child care, and the ability of her office to engage with the executive branch in the interview. Keller @ Large Part 2: Keller at Large airs every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on WBZ-TV.
Axios
17-03-2025
- Axios
Inmate makes Supreme Court bid before Tuesday execution
Unless last-minute court decisions change the timeline, Jessie Hoffman Jr. will be the first person in 15 years to be executed by the state of Louisiana. The big picture: State officials plan to execute Hoffman by nitrogen hypoxia, making Louisiana only the second state in the nation to use the method. The latest: Hoffman's legal team on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in to halt the execution proceedings. Catch up quick: A St. Tammany Parish judge signed an execution warrant for Hoffman on Feb. 12, just two days after the state approved a new protocol for carrying out capital punishments. Hoffman's execution date was set for March 18. Since then, Hoffman's lawyers have argued that the protocol violates his religious rights and the 8th Amendment, which bans cruel and unusual punishment. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Shelly Dick halted the state's execution plans while that lawsuit works its way through the courts. But then the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stepped in and overturned that decision Friday, allowing Tuesday's execution to go forward. What they said: Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill called the decision "justice for Mary 'Molly' Elliot, her friends, her family, and for Louisiana." Hoffman was found guilty of Elliott's 1997 kidnapping, rape and first-degree murder. Hoffman's lawyers hope the Supreme Court weighs in on two key legal questions, they say, including: Is execution by nitrogen gas an infringement upon his religious rights? Hoffman began practicing Buddhism while incarcerated, his lawyers say, and because meditative breathing is a key part of his practice, the mask used in a nitrogen gas execution prohibits his religious expression. Should psychological suffering be considered within what counts as cruel and unusual punishment in the 8th Amendment? Zoom in: In Dick's ruling, the district judge said Hoffman's legal team successfully argued that "nitrogen hypoxia superadds pain and terror as compared to firing squad," a method Hoffman has said he prefers. But Dick's ruling, the Fifth District says, "gets the Constitution backwards, because it's premised on the odd notion that the Eighth Amendment somehow requires Louisiana to use an admittedly more painful method of execution — namely, execution by firing squad rather than by nitrogen hypoxia." The Fifth District also notes "surely every method of execution necessarily involves some measure of psychological terror" and maintains that nitrogen hypoxia "does not produce physical pain." Yes, but: That detail has been hotly debated. Go deeper. What's next: By state law, if the case remains unimpeded, Hoffman's execution would take place Tuesday at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola's execution chambers between 6pm and 9pm.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Yahoo
Cleveland police searching for Jeep in possible kidnapping
CLEVELAND (WJW) – The Cleveland Division of Police is asking for the public's help finding a Jeep believed to be involved in a kidnapping situation. According to Cleveland police, officers with the Fifth District responded to a call for a possible kidnapping near East 116th Street and St. Clair Avenue around 3 p.m. Shots fired after local baby shower; 5 people arrested: I-Team 'The caller reported witnessing two Black males, possibly in their mid-teens and wearing dark clothing, standing near a black Jeep Cherokee SRT. At least one of them was armed and appeared to be pointing a gun at another Black male, also in his mid-teens,' the police department said in a media release. The witness told police that the teen was 'seemingly taken into the Jeep against his will.' Investigators said the Jeep then headed westbound on St. Clair. I-Team: Wrong-way driver goes 15 miles on I-480 According to Cleveland police, the vehicle was spotted on multiple security and Flock cameras. It was last seen in the area of Ivanhoe and Euclid. Investigators said the Jeep appears to have a broken sunroof. The alleged victim was seen wearing a red hoodie, investigators said. Anyone with information should reach out to Cleveland police detectives at (216) 621-1234 or by calling 911. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
