Secret Service tells House it’s still seeking lost Jan. 6 texts
WASHINGTON — The Secret Service has failed so far to provide Congress with any substantial new agency text messages from Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021, but assures the House committee investigating last year’s Capitol attack it will continue searching for the lost material.
Secret Service Communications Chief Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement Wednesday that thousands of pages of documents, including those on agency mobile phone use and other policies, have been turned over under subpoena to the committee.
Guglielmi previously confirmed texts sought by the committee were inadvertently lost during an equipment upgrade prior to the inspector general’s request for them.
The agency has been “fully cooperative” with the committee request for those same records, said Guglielmi in his statement, adding it will keep digging and is “taking all feasible steps to identify records, including “forensic examinations of agency phones and other investigative techniques.”
—Bloomberg News
Newsom signs bill to track certain sexually violent offenders through GPS systems
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Law enforcement groups and criminal justice reformers are at odds over a bill signed Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that will allow the state to keep tabs on certain "sexually violent predators" through Global Positioning Systems.
Lawmakers passed AB 1641 with an overwhelming majority in both the Assembly and Senate. Authored by Assemblymember Brian Maienschein, D-San Diego, the bill will require such predators to be monitored while on a conditional release program from rehabilitation programs.
Both the American Civil Liberties Union California Action and California Attorneys for Criminal Justice opposed the legislation. "Persons who are granted conditional release under the Sexually Violent Predator Act have been determined by the court, based upon expert opinion, not to pose a danger to the public," the ACLU wrote in a statement.
The group called the GPS tracking approach a "questionable practice," arguing that convicted sexual offenders who are granted conditional release have already served time in prison and receive treatment at Coalinga State Hospital.
—Los Angeles Times
Mom who says daughter and niece were snubbed by Sesame Place’s Rosita speaks out
PHILADELPHIA — The mother who posted a video of her daughter and niece after they were were seemingly snubbed by a costumed character at Sesame Place spoke out Tuesday, saying the incident was “disgusting” and “unbelievable” and pressed to hold Sesame Street accountable.
Over the weekend, an employee dressed as the turquoise muppet Rosita was recorded appearing to refuse to high-five two young Black girls during a parade at Sesame Place in Langhorne. The video, recorded by Jodi Brown, spread on social media and prompted calls to boycott Sesame Place and for an explanation from the company.
The nine-second clip shows the mascot waving at and high-fiving a few people and then apparently waving off the two girls who had outstretched hands. On CNN, Brown said that the experience left the two girls crestfallen and her explaining.
“I couldn’t believe that it happened,” Brown said. “It’s a child theme park. The kids are supposed to be happy and acknowledged and greeted and having a good time. The fact that this even happened, the fact that this is even going to be a core memory for them when it comes to Sesame Place is actually disgusting and unbelievable to me.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
Iran warns US over bill diminishing Biden bid for nuclear accord
Iran warned that proposed U.S. legislation targeting the Islamic Republic could further imperil stalled Biden administration efforts to resurrect the moribund nuclear deal.
The bipartisan Senate bill, called the Iran Nuclear Weapons Capability Act of 2022, seeks to compel the government to assess the dangers posed by Iran and come up with a strategy to deal with them. It was introduced as Biden’s Democrats prepare to fight to retain their control over the legislative branch of government at November’s midterm elections.
The timing means it’s likely to garner wide across-the-aisle support especially as opposition to the atomic accord with Tehran has been one of the few areas of agreement in Congress since it was finalized in 2015.
“Iran regards the U.S. and its institutions as one unified unit, and any unconstructive measure by the U.S. government will naturally affect the course of talks, and the Islamic Republic will adjust its actions accordingly,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Wednesday in response to Bloomberg questions.
—Bloomberg News
