Page 6 - 5-5-15 Tuesday's Edition

President Obama Unveils Spin-Off To My Brother’s Keeper Program
Attorney General Unveils
President Obama spoke at Lehman College on Monday.
Just a week on the job, U. S.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Friday unveiled a $20 million pilot program to ex- pand the use of police body cam- eras for “transparency” amid nationwide protests over law en- forcement treatment of sus- pects.
"Body-worn cameras hold tremendous promise for en- hancing transparency, promot- ing accountability, and advancing public safety for law enforcement officers and the communities they serve," Lynch said in a press release.
The move follows protests over allegations of police brutal- ity in Black communities across the nation following several high profile deaths, including Michael Brown by a white of- ficer in Ferguson, Mo., the killing of a homeless man on Los Angeles' Skid Row and most re- cently the spinal injury while in police custody that led to the death of 25-year-old Freddie
From the campus of Lehman College in the Bronx New York Monday, President Obama announced a spin-off of his al- ready-existing "My Brother's Keeper" initiative into a new, non-profit foundation -- a clue into what work the President will take on in his post-presi- dency years.
The President's initiative was first created in 2014 by the White House in the wake of Trayvon Martin's killing to address the lack of opportunity that young minority boys face in often-poor neighborhoods across the country.
The President on Monday announced an off-shoot of the initiative, from the campus of Lehman College in the Bronx New York, into a separate and independent nonprofit organi- zation -- a structure that can support the work as the Obama administration winds down in its remaining years and remain in place after the President de- parts the White House in 2017.
Monday's announcement comes as the nation continues the conversation on race rela- tions, after the unrest in Balti-
more following the death of 25- year-old Freddie Gray.
"For so many of us, the My Brother's Keeper initiative is deeply personal," Broderick Johnson, Chairman of the White House's My Brother's Keeper Task Force, wrote in an email to supporters about the formation of the new nonprofit, "As a proud son of Baltimore, this week's announcement comes at a time of unique and special resonance for me."
The alliance will be made up of celebrities, athletes, CEOs and current and former gov- ernment officials, including singer John Legend, former Pittsburgh Steeler Jerome Bettis, NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, former At- torney General Eric Holder, former Secretary of State Gen- eral Colin Powell, and Demo- cratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey.
According to the Alliance, the foundation will focus on key moments in a young man's academic and professional life, targeting key, symbolic mile- stones for intervention: when boys are entering grade school,
ATTORNEY GENERAL LORETTA LYNCH
Gray, the report says.
Police departments around
the nation have begun equip- ping officers with the cameras, with encouragement from the Obama administration, which has asked Congress for in- creased funding for the cameras.
in middle childhood, graduat- ing from high school, finishing college and then entering the workforce. According to the al- liance, the intervention would continue with the goal of re- ducing violence "throughout life."
President Obama will also sat down for a roundtable discussion with a group of men from the college, young men who have been working within the community, and young men who would stand to bene- fit from the programs within the alliance.
"This is an issue that the President intends to continue to be focused on, long after he has left the Oval Office," White House press secretary Josh Earnest says.
"My Brother's Keeper" was launched in February 2014. Since that time, the White House has held numerous events in Washington and around the country including mentoring programs, and part- nerships with professional ath- letes -- all aimed at breaking down obstacles for young mi- nority men and to prevent them from slipping through the cracks in their communities.
In the email to supporters, Johnson said organizers be- lieve some "progress" has been made in the year since the ini- tiative was launched, but indi- cated there are still areas where the work remains unfinished.
"Persistent gaps in employ- ment, educational outcomes, and career skills remain," Johnson wrote, "barring too many youth from realizing their full potential, and creat- ing harmful social and eco- nomic costs to our nation."
Police Body Cameras
$20M Program To Expand
Former Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Car- son formally launched his presidential campaign on Monday, declaring “it’s time we take our country back.”
“I’m Ben Carson and I’m a candidate for president of the United States,” he said.
Carson, whose 29 years as a pediatric neurosurgeon earned him national acclaim, announced his presidential bid in his hometown of Detroit where he was raised in poverty by a single mother.
The 63-year-old gained no- toriety among tea party con- servatives in 2013 when he lambasted President Barack Obama’s healthcare law at the National Prayer Breakfast while the president was just a few feet away.
Carson becomes the first African-American to join an already diverse GOP presiden- tial field. Republican Sens.
DR. BEN CARSON And WIFE
Dr. Ben Carson Launches Campaign For President
President Obama's bid for fast track trade authority along with a huge Asian trade deal fell into further trouble Sunday night when a key Republican senator charged that the deals open the door to more immi- gration and let the administra- tion make future changes without congressional ap- proval.
Alabama Senator Jeff Ses- sions delivered the bruising blow when he raised five ques- tions about the Trade Promo- tion Authority speeding through Congress and the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal that TPA would help push.
Despite promises by the ad- ministration and two House committee chairmen pushing TPA and TPP that immigration would not be changed, Ses- sions and several outside groups said Pres. Obama could change immigration poli- cies between trading partners at will without any congres- sional oversight.
The base of that charge is a phrase in TPP calling it a "living agreement." Sessions and oth- ers contacted by Secrets said that means that they can be changed after Congress ap- proves them, and also that countries can be added in the future, including China. The Sessions alert said, "Promot- ers of TPA should explain why the American people ought to trust the administration and its foreign partners to revise or rewrite international agree- ments, or add new members to those agreements, without con-
Alabama Sen. Sessions opposes agreement.
gressional approval."
Other questions raised by
Sessions over the trade pacts included whether currency ma- nipulation will be stopped and fears trade deficits will surge.
His voice is one of the loud- est from the GOP that was thought to be President Obama's biggest ally in win- ning TPA and TPP.
Democrats, labor groups and environmentalists oppose the deals and Kevin L. Kearns of the U. S. Business and Industry Council, whose group repre- sents U. S. businesses, said it will lead to further job cuts. He also warned that in the upcom- ing elections, Democrats will slap Republicans for voting to OK trade deals that cut jobs.
Sessions called on Pres. Obama to rewrite the deal, make it simpler and provide much more transparency.
Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are vying to become the coun- try’s first Hispanic president, while a former Hewlett- Packard CEO declared Mon- day that she is running to become the first female presi- dent.
A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that 41 percent of GOP primary voters said they could see themselves supporting Car- son, while 18 percent said they do not imagine support- ing him.
Alabama Sen. Says Trade Deal Opens Immigration Floodgates
Presidential News
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