Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 5-20-16 Online Edition

White House News
Race To The White House
U.S. And Nigerian Relations Better: Help To Fight Boko Haram On The Table
Less than two years after it blocked a sale of American- made attack helicopters to Nigeria from Israel because of human rights concerns, the Obama administration says it is poised to sell up to 12 light at- tack aircraft to Nigeria as part of an effort to support the coun- try’s fight against the Boko Haram militant group.
But the pending sale of the Super Tucano attack warplanes — which would require con- gressional approval — is al- ready coming under criticism from human rights organiza- tions that say President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria has not yet done enough to stop the abuses and corruption that flourished in the military under his predeces- sor, Goodluck Jonathan.
Officials at the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon have been bracing for a fight with congressional De- mocrats, in particular Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, over the sale of the planes.
The proposed sale reflects the warming of the relationship be- tween the Nigerian and American militaries, which had frayed under Mr. Jonathan. The Pentagon often bypassed
Nigerian president MuhammaduBuhari and President Obama met in July 2015.
Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram, choosing to work directly with neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
In addition to citing corrup- tion and sweeping human rights abuses by Nigerian sol- diers, American officials were hesitant to share intelligence with the Nigerian military, say- ing Boko Haram had infiltrated it. That accusation prompted indignation from Nigeria.
But that was before Mr. Buhari, a former Nigerian Army major general, defeated Mr. Jonathan in an election last year.
Since coming into power, Mr. Buhari has devoted himself to rooting out graft in Africa’s
largest economy.
He has fired a number of
Nigerian military officers ac- cused of corruption, and Amer- ican military officials say they are now working closely with some of their counterparts in Nigeria. The Obama adminis- tration is also considering send- ing dozens of Special Operations advisers to the front lines of Nigeria’s fight against Boko Haram, an insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians in the country’s north- east as well as in Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
Mr. Buhari has also pledged to investigate allegations of human rights abuses and has said he will not tolerate them.
Bernie Sanders Wins Oregon; Hillary Clinton Wins Kentucky; Democratic Picture Is Far From Perfect
Every week, millions of Amer- icans work more than 40 hours but do not receive the overtime pay they have earned.
President Obama is taking action to fix that: In a note to signers of a We the People peti- tion, the President announced that tomorrow the Department of Labor will finalize a rule to extend overtime protections to 4.2 million more Americans.
Some of the President's notes:
I wanted you to be the first to know about some important news on an issue I know you care deeply about: making sure you're paid fairly.
Tomorrow, we're strengthen- ing our overtime pay rules to make sure millions of Ameri- cans' hard work is rewarded.
If you work more than 40 hours a week, you should get paid for it or get extra time off to spend with your family and loved ones. It's one of most im- portant steps we're taking to help grow middle-class wages and put $12 billion more dollars in the pockets of hardworking Americans over the next 10
years.
For generations, overtime
protections have meant that an honest day's work should get a fair day's pay, and that's helped American workers climb the ladder of success. That's what middle-class economics are all about.
But after years of inflation and lobbyists' efforts to weaken overtime protections, that secu- rity has eroded for too many families....
...Americans have spent too long working long hours and getting less in return. So wher- ever and whenever I can make sure that our economy rewards hard work and responsibility, that's what I'm going to do. Every hardworking American deserves a paycheck that lets them support their families, gain a little economic security, and pass down some opportu- nity to their kids. That's always worth fighting for.
Thanks for raising your voice on this critical issue -- we could- n't have done it without you.
President Barack Obama
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders battled to a neck-and-neck outcome in Kentucky's presidential pri- mary Tuesday, as Clinton de- clared victory.
Sanders was declared the winner shortly after the polls closed in the liberal-leaning state and vowed to continue.
Rallying supporters in Cali- fornia, Sanders said he would end up with about half of the delegates in Kentucky and promised to press forward even though he would need to win about two-thirds of the remain- ing pledged delegates to end the primary season in a tie.
Clinton holds a command- ing lead of nearly 300 pledged delegates over Sanders and a dominant advantage among party officials and elected lead- ers known as superdelegates. The outcomes in Kentucky and Oregon were not expected to change that, and the former secretary of state remains on track to clinch the nomination
Sen. Bernie Sanders has the momentum to push the Demo- cratic nomination to the very end. However, former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton has a 300 delegate lead for the Demo- cratic nomination.
in early June.
For Democrats, 55 delegates
were up for grabs in Kentucky and 61 delegates were at stake in Oregon. Clinton and Sanders will each pick up at least 25 delegates in Kentucky, with five delegates remaining to be allocated pending final vote tallies.
Just Announced: President Obama Is Extending Overtime Pay To Millions More Americans
2 Florida Public Safety Officers Were Among 13 Honored By President Obama
President Obama awarded the Medal of Valor to thirteen public safety officers at the White House. The Medal of Valor is awarded to public safety officers who have exhib- ited exceptional courage, re- gardless of personal safety, in an attempt to save or protect others from harm.
‘The men and women who run toward danger remind us with your courage and humility what the highest form of citi- zenship looks like. When you see students and commuters and shoppers at risk, you don’t see these civilians as strangers. You see them as part of your own family, your own commu- nity. The Scripture teaches us, you love your neighbor as your-
self. And you put others’ safety before your own. In your proud example of public service, you remind us that loving our coun- try means loving one another’, the President said.
Officer Mario Gutierrez
(Miami-Dade Police Depart- ment, FL) was honored his for bravery and composure while enduring a violent attack. Offi- cer Niel Johnson (North Miami Police Department, FL) was honored for swift and val- orous action to end a violent crime spree. Officer John- son pursued a man who had shot a Miami police officer and two other innocent bystanders, withstanding fire from an as- sault weapon, and appre- hended the assailant.
President Pushes
To Expand Overtime Law Protection
PRESIDENT OBAMA
Every week, millions of Amer- icans work more than 40 hours a week, but do not receive the overtime pay they have earned. Tomorrow, the Department of Labor will be finalizing a rule to fix that by updating overtime protections for workers.
In total, the new rule is ex- pected to extend overtime pro- tections to 4.2 million more Americans who are not cur- rently eligible under federal law, and it is expected to boost wages for workers by $12 billion over the next 10 years.
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