Latest news with #Nota
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hundreds attend Memorial Day parades across the Southern Tier
ENDICOTT, NY (WIVT/WBGH) – The largest post-COVID Memorial Day crowd in Endicott lined Washington Ave today to honor our nation's veterans. Endicott held its annual Memorial Day parade on Washington Ave today, prior to hosting a ceremony at the Endicott War Memorial. The parade featured local veterans' groups, the Union-Endicott High School marching band, emergency services, civic organizations, dignitaries, and a host of other community participants. After the precession, spectators gathered for a memorial service to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Chaplain Dennis Nota explains the importance of observing the federal holiday. 'Today, we stand to remember the most honorable amongst us, and we must continue to carry the burden of their sacrifice. Lest we lose sight of what true freedom is. Today is for remembering, to stand in honor of them, walk in their path of duty, remember the cost, and hold in your heart the cost of freedom,' said Chaplain Nota during his benediction. The ceremony included a reading of the Gettysburg Address, a performance of Amazing Grace by the Edward P. Maloney Memorial Pipe Band, and the playing of TAPS by a Marine. Anny Hogan Camp, the Post Commander for VFW Post 1449, announced that the out-of-commission mailbox at the memorial is finding new use as a U.S. flag retirement box. In addition to the holiday, the day marks the opening of the Villages carousel and pool at George W. Johnson Memorial Park. Two hours later, the City of Binghamton hosted its Memorial Day Parade. The procession kicked off at the American Legion Post 80 on Main Street and continued to the Broome Country Courthouse. A plethora of groups participated today, including the Binghamton Police and Fire Department, New York State Police, Broome County Sheriff's office, the Rumble Ponies, the Triple Cities Choppers, and perhaps the longest and flashiest of the day, the Twin Tiers Mustang Club. Broome County Clerk Joeseph Mihalko emceed the event, which included providing commentary and introducing the organizations to spectators. As the story goes, Memorial Day was first observed in Waterloo, New York, in 1866. It was originally known as 'Decoration Day.' The holiday was created to honor those who gave their lives in the Civil War. Binghamton adopted the tradition three years later, and in the years following, New York State was the first in the nation to make it a holiday in 1874. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
White House Mocks Man Trump Illegally Deported With Obama Campaign Theme
Donald Trump's White House social media accounts posted an image of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom the administration illegally deported to a prison in El Salvador, in the blue-and-red theme of President Barack Obama's first presidential campaign. Instead of the word 'HOPE,' it says 'MS-13.' 'Ah yes, a true classic. We call this one… 'Not a Maryland Dad,'' the White House posted on X and Instagram on Saturday. The picture doesn't make much sense, though it certainly fits within the Trump administration's broader social media strategy of being inflammatory and cruel toward immigrants. 'What the fuck is this account,' an Instagram user commented under the post. 'The White House,' the official account replied. Abrego Garcia was deported from Maryland to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador in March in violation of a 'protection from removal' order barring his deportation to the Central American nation. A federal judge, followed by the Supreme Court, ordered that the Trump administration bring him back, which it has not done, raising the prospect of a full-blown constitutional crisis. The administration originally alleged that Abrego Garcia was deported in error. Instead of bringing him back to America, the administration has led a smear campaign against him, and the Department of Homeland Security has claimed he is a member of the MS-13 gang. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS last Wednesday that if Abrego Garcia were brought back to the U.S., the Trump administration would deport him a second time. '[Abrego Garcia] is not under our control,' she said. 'He is an El Salvador citizen. He is home there in his country. If he were to be brought back to the United States of America, we would immediately deport him again.' Noem said that the next steps were up to El Salvador. 'President Trump and his administration has adhered to the court and respects the court and its decisions,' she said. 'This individual is not under the United States of America's jurisdiction and he is not one of our citizens. He is home in his home country. And that's up to that country to decide what to do.' Noem's department recently exposed where Abrego Garcia's wife lived when DHS made a civil protective order public that included her address, forcing her to move to a safe house with her three children. 'I don't feel safe when the government posts my address, the house where my family lives, for everyone to see, especially when this case has gone viral and people have all sorts of opinions,' his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, an American citizen, told the Washington Post. 'So, this is definitely a bit terrifying. I'm scared for my kids.' On Saturday, Noem claimed on Fox News that Abrego Garcia's wife may not even want him returned home to America, and is only arguing so publicly because she is afraid of him, based on her past claims of domestic violence. Under the social media post depicting Abrego Garcia in the style of the Obama campaign, the White House linked to a press release from DHS that alleged Abrego Garcia is a suspected human trafficker. The basis of this claim is that in 2022 he was pulled over for speeding and had eight other people in the car with no luggage. He told the state highway trooper they were returning from a construction job. In bodycam footage from the traffic stop, the man in the passenger seat appears to be covered in paint. There were no charges filed. 'The facts speak for themselves, and they reek of human trafficking,' DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. 'The media's sympathetic narrative about this criminal illegal gang member has completely fallen apart. We hear far too much about the gang members and criminals' false sob stories and not enough about their victims.' Abrego Garcia, 29, came to the U.S. at age 16 after a gang threatened him and his family. In 2019, he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on allegations that he was a gang member. He married his pregnant wife in a detention center, and he was still in jail when she gave birth to their child. An immigration judge then allowed him to live and work legally in the U.S. on the basis that he could face gang violence if he were to return to El Salvador. The original image of Obama was created in 2008 by activist Shepard Fairey and featured the word 'HOPE' at the bottom. It became an iconic portrait of the then soon-to-be president. More from Rolling Stone Trump Is Fantasizing About Becoming the Next Pope Elon Musk and His DOGE Bro Have Cashed In on Americans' Retirement Savings Adidas Sambas Are up to $50 off Online as Footwear Brand Announces It May Raise Prices Soon Due to Tariffs Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
Time of India
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
NOTA 'failed idea', never got a fraction of total votes, says EC
EC NEW DELHI: Election Commission and the Centre Thursday told Supreme Court that SC's 2013 mandate to provide the option of NOTA to voters had turned out to be a "failed idea" and that it was preposterous for a PIL to insist on conducting polls even in the rare instance of there being only a single candidate in the fray to know whether she/he secures more votes than NOTA. Appearing for EC, advocate Rakesh Dwivedi told SC, "NOTA... never impacted any election as a minuscule of voters exercised this option. Every winning candidate got far higher votes than NOTA." Attorney general R Venkataramani, with additional solicitor general S D Sanjay, said govt concurred with EC. The bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh said, "Can the Union govt and EC deliberate on prescribing a minimum vote percentage benchmark for winning candidates?" 'Uncontested polls now rare': EC urges SC to junk NGO plea Govt may think of constituting an expert body comprising parliamentarians and domain experts to discuss this issue. Since our Constitution provides for a democracy by majority, is it not desirable that the winning candi-date secures a threshold vote percentage, which would be fixed by Parliament," the bench said. Venkataramani said this issue was deliberated upon at length by EC which gave a report on 'one nation one poll'. The recommendations were debated by parliamentarians and there were divergent views, he said. Justice Kant said this may be a hypothetical issue - a single candidate in the fray may secure less votes than Nota in case an election was held instead of declaring that candidate elected unopposed. In its affidavit, EC said a candidate getting elected unopposed from a Lok Sabha constituency was very rare. Since 1991, there was only a single such instance of a candidate getting elected to Lok Sabha unopposed, Dwivedi said. "Since 1971 till today, that is in the last 54 years, there have been six uncontested elections in total. In the 20 general elections since 1951, there have been only nine uncontested elections," he added. Responding to the PIL by NGO 'Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy' seeking conduct of election even when there was only a single candidate in the fray, EC said, "With the evolution of democracy, a greater number of political parties are contesting elections and, hence, the number of candidates also increases automatically, and voters have become more aware and eager to exercise their right to vote. "The chance of the election being uncontested has become a rarity which is proven from statistical data and, hence, in such a scenario, SC ought not to entertain the present petition." Nota option is there only when there is an election, EC said, adding, "Hence, treating Nota as a mandatorily contesting candidate in all direct uncontested elections does not find place in the statute and the same would require legislative amendments in the provisions of Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961."
