No Indictment For Cop Using Choke hold on Eric Garner

Today a grand jury in Staten Island came to the decision that Officer Pantaleo would not be indited for the death of Eric Garner. This decision comes a few days after a grand jury in Missouri also decides that an Officer that shot a black teen was also not face indited. The New York Times posts that there has been large scale protests all over New York. The verdict came not even a day after the grand jury heard testimony from witnesses and Officer Pantaleo. The grand jury was also shown videos of the incident that ended Eric Garner's life.
The New York Times reports that although the verdict was that there would be no criminal trial there will be a civil rights inquiry. Massive protests have started tonight in New York, as protesters chant Garner's last words, "I can't breath." The protests and civil disobedience that are occurring in New York is very different than that of Ferguson, Missouri, with few arrest and less violence. The same post from the New York Times also explains that police in New York will now be required to wear small body cameras, though some will argue that cops wearing cameras won't make a difference when being used as evidence.


Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/nyregion/grand-jury-said-to-bring-no-charges-in-staten-island-chokehold-death-of-eric-garner.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=a-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Obama and Immigration

President Obama has announced today that he will continue to use his executive power to act on Immigration Reform. Obama first announced he would be taking matters into his own hands as the Republicans in Congress refused to make a decision and pass an immigration bill. According to the Los Angeles Times, Obama plans to unveil his plan of action to the nation on Thursday. The announcement comes after the midterm election put a pause on his executive action for fear of causing damage to the democratic party. 

The Los Angeles Times reports that the president's plan is yet unknown but will most likely not extend to all undocumented immigrants. Activist are a little disappointed that mostly not everyone will be covered by the executive order. Activist are also disappointed that the executive order is not a permanent fix to the broken immigration system but is a temporary thing that just helps those undocumented immigrants that are already here and does not address future immigrants. There is also a lot of opposition to Obama's announcement that he will be taking matters into his own hands. Republicans and conservatives argue that his announcement will only increase the amount of people coming over and that it will be harder for Americans to find jobs. The country is now just waiting to hear what this executive order will do for many undocumented immigrants. 

link: http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-california-immigration-20141120-story.html#page=1

California State University Trustee Meeting

After the increase in fee the California State University system will face angry students Thursday at a trustee meeting. According to the Los Angeles Times, students will be coming together Thursday in Long Beach to protest recent student fees. The fee in question is the Student Success Fee. This increased fee would help hire more campus faculty, and advisers, as well as to help fund athletic programs. The CSU system took severe cuts to funding and a moratorium passed by California Legislature banned new fees until 2016. To make up for all the cuts and limitations the trustees voted to raise the Student Success Fee. Students are outraged that the fee would increase to $800 went the fee was originally only $30. 

According to the Los Angeles Times the California State University system also wants to launch an online yearbook to highlight that they have reached 3 million living alumni. There will also be a scholarship to encourage graduates to make a profile in the online yearbook. The scholarship would be of $10,000. Trustees will also be talking about budgets and executive pay increase. Students might have more to complain about now and not just the $800 Student Success Fee. 

Link: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-trustees-20141112-story.html

Pot Legal In D.C.

Washington D.C. passed an initiative to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Voters washed as the tallies came pouring in for a very controversial initiatives. According to the Washington Post, initiative 71 would regulate the sale of marijuana. Marijuana would only be sold to people over the age of 21, much like alcohol. People are also only allowed to posses two ounces of marijuana and are allowed to grow up to three plants in their home.  

The Washington Post reports that the District council has promised to take sign the approved measure into law as soon as possible. Then after the measure is a law Congress could put in a system of taxes on the sale of the drug. There is of commotion because the measure can easily be vetoed by Congress. Along with the veto of Congress, the president needs to agree with Congress on stopping the measure from being law. 

link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-voters-titling-heavily-toward-legalizing-marijuana-likely-joining-colo-wash/2014/11/04/116e83f8-60fe-11e4-9f3a-7e28799e0549_story.html

Google Glass Possibly Banned From Theaters

Theaters all around the country might start banning Google Glass from its auditoriums because of copyright issues. The Washington Post reports that the Motion Picture Association of  America has put out guidelines for its theaters. The guidelines specify that wearable technology will not be allowed inside the auditoriums. This new policy comes after the release of the Google Glass, which is capable of recording what the wearer sees.

The MPAA has stated that the movie theaters are free to apply the new guidelines if they want to but is not necessarily mandatory. The new policy goes along with the old policy of not allowing things like phones that are able to record videos. The reason for not allowing such items is that people can record these movies and then sell them as bootleg DVDs. Recording and selling the pirated material is a serious crime and criminals can face jail time or a fine. The Washington Post also reports that other establishments like bars and restaurants have started to ban Google Glass. Google Glass has been banned in some establishments to protect other customers and employees' privacy. 

link http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/10/29/headed-to-the-movies-get-ready-to-leave-your-google-glass-at-home/

More CDC Regulations

The New York Times reports that there will be new regulations to prevent Ebola from spreading in the United States. The CDC has announced that it will have people that came from West Africa check in with local health departments for 21 days after their arrival. Passengers coming in from Sierra Leone, Liberia, or Guinea will have to give personal information such as email addresses, phone numbers and home addresses. Once passengers unboard the plane they will be given thermometers and cards that show the symptoms of Ebola and who to contact if they start to show symptoms.

The CDC has been implementing new regulations almost once a week as they have failed to provide guideline that protect healthcare workers. The CDC and the President have both come under fire because the public believes that they have mishandled the spread of Ebola. There are people that want to ban flights all completely. There are also new rules that might be coming into affect to monitor healthcare workers that deal with Ebola patients.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/health/us-to-monitor-travelers-from-ebola-hit-nations-for-21-days.html?ref=us

Second Nurse Infected with Ebola

Two nurses that treated the first Ebola patient in Dallas, Texas have contracted the deadly virus. This now makes three cases of Ebola in the United States and all three cases in Dallas, Texas. The New York Time reports that the second nurse to contract the virus is 29 year old, Amber Joy Vinson. The news of a second infected person was just the tip of the iceberg as we soon learned that this person had just taken a commercial flight from Ohio to Texas. Vinson, like the rest of the staff that attended to Thomas Eric Duncan, were to be self monitoring for any symptoms of the virus. The CDC allowed Vinson to travel because she did not have a fever, but the next day after arriving in Texas she was showing symptoms. Ms. Vinson is now in Atlanta being treated at Emory University Hospital.

The President and the CDC have then heavily criticized because the public feels like they have not handled the outbreak of Ebola. According to The New York Times the CDC has changed the amount of protection that it required health workers to wear when dealing with infected patients. The President has canceled trips to meet with committees to discuss how to deal with this outbreak. The news that there are more people getting sick and that one of them travel to another state has sparked fear in the public. All we can do now is wait to see what the President and CDC come up with to contain this virus.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/us/ebola-outbreak-texas.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=LedeSum&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news