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A26 u.s. news
Diasabra 5 september 2020

Groups ask for restraining order to stop census wind-down

By MIKE SCHNEIDER 2020 census a month early.
Associated Press House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — and U.S. Senate Democratic
A day after the U.S. Census Leader Chuck Schumer said
Bureau said that it has already in a letter to Commerce Sec-
taken steps to wind down op- retary Wilbur Ross and Cen-
erations for the 2020 census, sus Bureau director Steven
a coalition of cities, coun- Dillingham that they were
ties and civil rights groups is concerned the schedule was
trying to stop the statistical compressed so that the ap-
agency in its tracks. portionment count would be
The coalition asked a federal controlled by the Trump ad-
judge in San Jose on Thurs- ministration.
day to issue a temporary re- In the letter, Pelosi and
straining order stopping the Schumer recounted a meet-
Census Bureau from taking ing with Trump administra-
any further actions toward tion officials during negotia-
ending the once-a-decade tions over coronavirus-relief
head count of every U.S. legislation in which they
resident. raised their concerns about
The coalition is asking a judge the changed census sched-
in a lawsuit to make the Cen- ule. The Democratic lead-
sus Bureau restore its previ- ers showed administration
ous deadline for finishing the officials a statement from
census to the end of October, In this June 27, 2019, file photo, demonstrators gather at the Supreme Court as the justices finish four former Census Bureau
instead of using a revised the term with key decisions on gerrymandering and a census case involving an attempt by the directors who said it would
schedule to end operations at Trump administration to ask everyone about their citizenship status in the 2020 census, on Capitol be difficult to have a fair
the end of September. Argu- Hill in Washington. and accurate count with the
ments aren’t scheduled until compressed schedule. House
the middle of the month. Associated Press Chief of Staff Mark Mead-
“More immediate relief is a directive from President to Houston and Seattle and had been counted, between ows responded, “the Demo-
needed,” said the court filing Donald Trump to exclude the cities of Los Angeles, San residents who self-responded crats just want to control the
by the coalition. people in the country ille- Jose and Salinas, California. and those who were counted apportionment and we aren’t
The door-knocking phase of gally from the numbers used Government attorneys on by door-knocking census going to let them do that,” ac-
the 2020 didn’t start for most in redrawing congressional Friday said in a court filing takers. cording to Pelosi and Schum-
of the U.S. until the begin- districts, a process known as that they would offer a more “Some have questioned our er.
ning of August, so winding apportionment. detailed argument against ability to perform on this “It appears that Mr. Meadows
down operations in Sep- More than a half dozen other the restraining order but dis- timeline without impacting may have made the previ-
tember will lead to an inac- lawsuits have been filed in agreed with statements in the completeness or accuracy. ously unspoken intentions of
curate count that overlooks tandem across the country, coalition’s argument. The The numbers prove that is (the) President and his Ad-
minority communities, the challenging Trump’s memo- government attorneys said not the case,” Ross wrote. ministration clear: the White
court filing said. During the randum as unconstitutional they would have been willing Meanwhile, top Democratic House was intervening to en-
door-knocking phase, census and an attempt to limit the to negotiate an accelerated congressional leaders on Fri- sure President Trump would
takers go to households that power of Latinos and immi- schedule for the lawsuit. day demanded that the Trump control the apportionment
haven’t yet answered the cen- grants of color during appor- In an op-ed piece in USA administration provide docu- process while in office rath-
sus questionnaire online, by tionment. Today, Commerce Secretary ments, emails, notes and cal- er than ensuring an accurate
phone or by mail. The lawsuit was brought by Wilbur Ross, whose depart- endar invitations that showed count for the American peo-
The lawsuit contends the the National Urban League, ment oversees the Census how the Census Bureau and ple as required by the Consti-
Census Bureau changed the the League of Women Vot- Bureau, said Friday that al- the Commerce Department tution,” Pelosi and Schumer
schedule to accommodate ers, counties that are home most 85% of households made the decision to end the said in the letter.q

Indictment accuses 12 of illegally trading shark fins, drugs

after disrupting a criminal trict Court says that Terry ecutors said Phoenix Fisher-
enterprise that dealt drugs Xing Zhao Wu ran a company ies of Panama City, Florida,
and sold illegally harvested called Serendipity Business used fake paperwork to ex-
shark fins to buyers overseas. Solutions in Burlingame, ploit a Florida law that allows
U.S. Attorney Bobby Chris- California, that smuggled licensed dealers to sell fins
tine of Georgia’s Southern shark fins into the U.S. from from sharks that are legally
District said that what began Mexico and shipped them to caught and brought to land
five years ago as a U.S. Fish Hong Kong. whole.
and Wildlife Service inves- Soups made from shark fins Wu was also involved in il-
tigation into illegal shark are considered a delicacy in legally shipping marijuana
fin trading led to authorities some Asian countries, and from California to Georgia
“dismantling a major con- that demand has fueled an and other parts of the U.S.,
spiracy” also involved in ille- illegal practice of catching according to the indictment.
gal marijuana trafficking and sharks at sea, removing their Using third-party accounts,
money laundering. fins and then dumping the some of the profits were con-
In this Jan. 29, 2020 photo made available by the U.S. Fish “This operation is about maimed animals back into verted to precious metals and
and Wildlife Service, confiscated hammerhead shark fins are much more than disrupt- the water to die. jewels to hide their illegal
ing the despicable practice of The indictment says Wu used origins, Christine said. While
displayed at the Port of Miami. hacking the fins off of sharks a front company in Florida to making arrests in the case, he
Associated Press and leaving them to drown ship at least 12,500 pounds said, authorities seized more
By RUSS BYNUM Thursday that they have in the sea to create a bowl of (5,670 kilograms) of dried than $3.9 million in cash,
Associated Press charged 12 people and seized soup,” Christine told a news shark fins to Hong Kong about $3 million in gold, sil-
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) nearly $8 million in cash, conference in Savannah. through the Port of Savan- ver, and other metals, as well
— Federal authorities said jewels and precious metals An indictment in U.S. Dis- nah in 2016 and 2017. Pros- as $1 million in diamonds.q