LOS ANGELES — The famed Ahwahnee hotel in Yosemite National Park has come under fire for hosting a lavish Thanksgiving feast for hundreds amid stay-at-home pleas from public health officials.
“This Thanksgiving, celebrate among family, friends and the epic beauty of Yosemite National Park,” the hotel wrote in promotion of the event. “Our Executive Chef is once again preparing a legendary feast served in the Ahwahnee stunning dining room.”
At the time, Mariposa County, where Yosemite is located, was in the orange tier of California’s color-coded blueprint for reopening, indicating moderate risk of COVID-19 transmission. According to state guidelines, restaurants in orange-tier counties can be open with a capacity of 50% or 200 people, whichever is less.
Yet employees told SFGate that the Ahwahnee was fully booked and that “300 to 400" guests showed up for dinner between 2 and 8 p.m. Some hotel workers said they feared for their safety and that face coverings were not enforced among guests.
David Freireich, spokesman for Aramark Management Services, which operates the hotel and other concessions in the park, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
— Los Angeles Times
ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York lawmaker is offering a little advice to President Donald Trump and gently reminding him that his former home state recently weakened his pardon power.
Democratic state Sen. Todd Kaminsky sent a letter to the commander-in-chief on Friday detailing a law passed last year that closed a legal loophole and allows the state to pursue charges against people who have received presidential pardons, which apply only to federal crimes.
Speculation has swirled in recent days that Trump is preparing to issue a host of pardons and may be considering preemptive pardons for sons Eric and Don Jr. and allies such as former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.
That would do little to avert legal trouble in the Empire State, Kaminsky warned.
“I write to remind you that your pardon power only extends to federal offenses, and your friends and family could still face state prosecution if they committed crimes in New York,” Kaminsky, a former state and federal prosecutor, writes.
— New York Daily News
AMSTERDAM — The Dutch trial over the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine six years ago is scheduled to begin in earnest next year on June 7, the district court in The Hague, Netherlands, said Friday.
Preliminary hearings were held in March and June. But the trial has faced postponements due to coronavirus travel restrictions and to allow the defense more time to prepare.
According to a court statement, the start of the main portion of the trial in June is contingent on investigations being wrapped up and outstanding procedural issues resolved. To this end, more preliminary hearings are scheduled for Feb. 1 and April 15, 2021.
Outstanding issues include questions surrounding claims for compensation and the prosecution's request for an inspection of the aircraft, which was partially reconstructed from debris, and is now in the Netherlands.
All 298 people on board flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, were killed in the downing over war-torn eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. Most of the victims were Dutch.
The Russian government has repeatedly denied allegations of involvement in the incident
— dpa
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers sent a very short-term continuing resolution to President Donald Trump on Friday night as they sought to avoid a government funding lapse when a temporary spending law expires at midnight.
The Senate passed the bill on a voice vote after several potential objections fell away. The House passed the bill earlier on a 320-60 vote, eclipsing the two-thirds required under suspension of the rules, after Texas Republican Chip Roy scuttled plans for a quick voice vote by asking for a recorded vote.
The weekend funding extension would buy lawmakers a little more time to pass the $1.4 trillion fiscal 2021 omnibus appropriations bill, which is expected to carry a roughly $900 billion coronavirus relief package and a smattering of unrelated legislation.
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said after the House vote that while he was hopeful negotiators could reach agreement in the “near future" on the COVID-19 aid piece, there were still “some significant outstanding issues.” The earliest the House would vote on the legislation is Sunday at 1 p.m., he announced.
— CQ-Roll Call
