Legal advocates are welcoming new proposals from the federal government to address the overrepresentation of Black, Indigenous and other racialized groups in the criminal justice system.
Author: redding
They share Roman Catholicism as a faith and California as their home base. Yet there's a deep gulf between Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco and Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego in the high-stakes debate over whether politicians who support abortion rights should be denied Communion.
Cordileone, who has long established himself as a forceful anti-abortion campaigner, recently has made clear his view that such political figures — whose ranks include President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — should not receive Communion because of their stance on the issue. The archbishop issued a pastoral letter on the topic May 1 and reinforced the message in an hourlong interview Friday with the Catholic television network EWTN.
"To those who are advocating for abortion, I would say, 'This is killing. Please stop the killing. You're in position to do something about it,'" he told the interviewer.
In neither the letter nor the interview did Cordileone mention Pelosi, who represents San Francisco, by name. But he has criticized her in the past for stances on abortion that directly contradict Catholic teaching.
McElroy, in a statement published Wednesday by the Jesuit magazine America, assailed the campaign to exclude Biden and other like-minded Catholic officials from Communion.
"It will bring tremendously destructive consequences," McElroy wrote. "The Eucharist is being weaponized and deployed as a tool in political warfare. This must not happen."
The polarized viewpoints of the two prelates illustrate how divisive this issue could be if, as expected, it comes before the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at its national assembly starting June 16. There are plans for the bishops to vote on whether the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine should draft a document saying Biden and other Catholic public figures with similar views on abortion should refrain from Communion.
In accordance with existing USCCB policy, any such document is likely to leave decisions on withholding Communion up to individual bishops.
Biden, the second Catholic U.S. president, attends Mass regularly, worshipping at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and in Washington.
The archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, has made it clear that Biden is welcome to receive Communion at churches he oversees. Bishop William Koenig, appointed April 30 to head the Wilmington diocese, said he would gladly speak with Biden about his views on abortion but did not say whether he would allow him to continue receiving Communion, as Koenig’s predecessor had done.
It's considered unlikely that Biden would heed any call to forgo Communion, but a USCCB document urging him to do so would be a remarkable rebuke nonetheless.
Cordileone, in his pastoral letter, wrote that it's the responsibility of Catholic clergy "to correct Catholics who erroneously, and sometimes stubbornly, promote abortion."
Initially, this rebuke should come in private conversations between "the erring Catholic" and his or her priest or bishop, wrote Cordileone, who then noted that such conversations are often fruitless.
"Because we are dealing with public figures and public examples of co-operation in moral evil, this correction can also take the public form of exclusion from the reception of Holy Communion," he wrote. "This is a bitter medicine, but the gravity of the evil of abortion can sometimes warrant it."
In the 2020 presidential election, Catholic voters split their votes almost evenly between Biden and Republican Donald Trump. National polls have consistently shown that a majority of U.S. Catholics believe abortion should be legal in at least some cases.
Were Biden to be excluded from Communion, McElroy wrote, "fully half the Catholics in the United States will see this action as partisan in nature, and it will bring the terrible partisan divisions that have plagued our nation into the very act of worship that is intended by God to cause and signify our oneness."
McElroy also questioned why abortion was the overarching focus of some bishops, while the sin of racism has not been prominent in their comments.
"It will be impossible to convince large numbers of Catholics in our nation that this omission does not spring from a desire to limit the impact of exclusion to Democratic public leaders," McElroy wrote.
Toward the close of his statement, McElroy quoted Pope Francis as saying Communion is "not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak."
Cordileone, in an addendum to his pastoral letter, sought to explain its timing.
"I have been working on this Pastoral Letter for a long time, but did not want to publish it during the election year, precisely to avoid further confusion among those who would misperceive this as 'politicizing' the issue," he wrote. "Regardless of which political party is in power at a given moment, we all need to review some basic truths and moral principles."
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
David Crary, The Associated Press
Manitoba will shutter schools in two hard-hit regions and move students to online learning, officials announced Sunday, as several other provinces also tightened public health measures to limit the spread of COVID-19.
While the overall number of new cases in Canada has been declining since mid-April, COVID-19 infection rates remain stubbornly high in parts of Canada.
Manitoba Education Minister Cliff Cullen and chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said kindergarten to Grade 12 classes in Winnipeg and Brandon would moving online from Wednesday until at least May 30.
In-person services will still be available to primary school students who are children of essential workers who cannot make other arrangements. Other schools across the province will remain open, but with additional restrictions in place.
Roussin said the province needs to take action to manage high levels of community transmission that is spreading to schools and putting a strain on the province’s hospitals.
“We need to act now to break these transmission chains,” he said.
Manitoba also banned in-person restaurant dining, closed churches and some businesses and dropped capacity at retail stores to 10 per cent as of Sunday, as the province reported more than 500 cases of COVID-19.
Alberta was also preparing to shut restaurant patios and to close personal wellness services such as hair salons and tattoo parlours on Sunday night as the final group of rules announced last week by Premier Jason Kenney were to come into effect.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside a central Alberta café Saturday to protest the health measures, which included shifting schools to online learning, limiting gatherings and forcing workplaces with COVID-19 outbreaks to close.
The Quebec government will tighten measures in the Estrie region east of Montreal as of Monday, even as it is set to lift emergency lockdown measures in the greater Quebec City region.
The province’s case count remained relatively steady on Sunday, at under 1,000 on Sunday, with a fifth straight drop in the number of hospitalizations, even as emergency measures remained in place in a few hard-hit areas.
Canada’s chief public health officer said on Twitter that infection rates remain high in many parts of the country, and urged people to maintain public health measures even if they’ve been vaccinated.
“Vaccinated or not…for now we still need to take steps to go out safely,” Dr. Theresa Tam wrote. She urged people to limit social interactions with people outside their households, and to meet people outdoors whenever possible.
Ontario, meanwhile, reported 3,216 additional people have been infected with COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, and 47 more people had died.
Nova Scotia reported 165 new cases, with 138 coming from the central zone in and around Halifax.
The province’s chief medical officer of health urged the province’s residents to avoid gathering for Mother’s Day, given the high case count.
"Now is not the time to let our guard down,” Dr. Robert Strang said in a statement.
“If you don't live with your mother-figure, please celebrate Mother's Day virtually.”
Other premiers and health officers issued similar messages, reminding people to follow health rules to avoid spreading COVID-19 to their loved ones.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2021.
Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press
WASHINGTON — Top House Republican Kevin McCarthy on Sunday publicly endorsed Rep. Elise Stefanik for the post of No. 3 leader, cementing party support of the Donald Trump loyalist over Rep. Liz Cheney, an outspoken critic of the former president for promoting discredited claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
House Republicans could vote as early as Wednesday to remove Cheney, the highest-ranking woman in the Republican leadership and daughter of former Vice-President Dick Cheney, and replace her with Stefanik, whose ascension has received Trump’s backing.
Asked in an interview on Fox News Channel’s "Sunday Morning Futures" whether he supported Stefanik, R-N.Y., for the job of Republican Conference chair, McCarthy responded: "Yes, I do."
"We want to be united in moving forward, and I think that is what will take place," he said in response to a question about whether he had the votes to oust Cheney, R-Wyo.
McCarthy said the leadership post must focus on a message "day in and day out" on what he said were the problems of the Biden administration.
Cheney has taken on Republicans, including McCarthy, R-Calif., saying those who indulge Trump's false claims of a stolen presidential election are "spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system." In an opinion essay Wednesday in The Washington Post, she denounced the "dangerous and anti-democratic Trump cult of personality," and warned her fellow Republicans against embracing or ignoring his statements "for fundraising and political purposes."
She also said McCarthy had "changed his story" after initially saying Trump "bears responsibility" for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. McCarthy initially criticized Trump's actions, and in a private call during the insurrection, had urged the then-president to call off the rioters. The GOP leader now says he does not believe Trump provoked the riot.
McCarthy on Sunday denied that Republicans’ effort to remove Cheney was based on her views of Trump or being one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6 riot. He said she was distracting from Republicans' bid to win back the House in 2022 and successfully oppose President Joe Biden’s agenda, goals that McCarthy believes will need Trump’s support.
McCarthy complained last week that he had "lost confidence" in Cheney and "had it with her" over her continuing remarks about Trump, according to a leaked recording of his exchange on "Fox and Friends."
Cheney actually has a more conservative voting record in the House than Stefanik, a onetime Trump critic who evolved into an ardent ally. She previously opposed Trump’s tax cuts.
"You have this real battle right now in the party, this idea of let's just put our differences aside and be unified," said Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., who also voted to impeach Trump. "They're going to get rid of Liz Cheney because they'd much rather pretend that the conspiracy is either real or not confront it than to actually confront it and maybe have to take the temporary licks to save this party and in the long term this country,” he said on CBS’ "Face the Nation."
The second-ranking House Republican leader, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, already has announced his support for Stefanik.
Hope Yen, The Associated Press
Quebec is reporting 960 new cases of COVID-19 and six additional deaths linked to the pandemic, including one in the last 24 hours.
Hospitalizations declined for a fifth straight day, down by eight to 539, while the number of people in intensive care dropped by six to 124.
The province gave 74,694 doses of vaccine on Saturday, and has currently administered at least one shot to almost 42 per cent of the population.
The latest update comes as the Quebec City region and parts of the Outaouais prepare to reopen high schools and non-essential stores on Monday.
The Quebec government announced last week it would lift special lockdown measures in those parts of the province, which includes pushing the nightly curfew from 8 p.m. to 9:30.
However, the province said Saturday that the Estrie region east of Montreal will see its alert level rise from orange to red on Monday, resulting in tighter restrictions after its case numbers jumped in the last week.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2021
The Canadian Press
Watch the full episode of The West Block on Sunday, May 9, 2021
According to Dr. Alan Bernstein, one way to deal with variants of concern would be for vaccine makers to adapt and modify their shots over the coming years.
WASHINGTON — Former acting Defence Secretary Christopher Miller is scheduled to testify next week about the Pentagon’s role in responding to the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, the latest in a series of high-profile congressional hearings centred on the insurrection.
Miller is expected to appear Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee alongside former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and District of Columbia Police Chief Robert Contee III in a hearing titled, "The Capitol Insurrection: Unexplained Delays and Unanswered Questions.”
It is one of several Jan. 6-related hearings scheduled for next week.
Miller will almost certainly be asked to respond to complaints raised at previous hearings that the Defence Department took too long to dispatch the National Guard to the Capitol despite pleas for extra assistance from the Capitol Police several hours earlier.
Army and Pentagon leaders have repeatedly denied any efforts to delay or deny the Guard response, and say the movement of the troops was approved quickly but took time to actually complete. Guard members were scattered around the city posted at intersections, and they had to return to the armoury, get riot gear and other equipment, get their new orders and explanation of their new mission before they were sent to the Capitol.
Miller denied in a Vice News interview in March that the response was unduly slow, saying, "It comes back to understanding how the military works.” He said "this isn't a video game," adding “it's not 'Black Ops Call of Duty.'"
Other hearings set for next week are House Administration Committee sessions with Capitol Police inspector general Michael Bolton, whose latest Jan. 6-related report focused on the agency’s counter-surveillance authorities as well as threats made against lawmakers, and Christopher Failla, the architect of the Capitol.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat and chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said this week that a $2 billion supplemental spending bill that the House is expected to take up soon will have a focus including increased training, intelligence analysis and capabilities.
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Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.
Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP
Eric Tucker, The Associated Press
MONTREAL — Quebec is allowing overnight camps across the province to reopen this summer.
An association representing camps in the province says it learned Thursday its members will be allowed to reopen after last summer’s season was cancelled because of COVID-19.
The health rules under which the camps can reopen haven’t been finalized, but the association says they could include requiring campers to test negative for COVID-19 shortly before they leave for camp and again a few days later.
Quebec on Thursday opened vaccination appointments for camp counsellors as young as 16 and the government has said children as young as 12 will have access to at least one dose of vaccine by the end of June.
Camps association head Éric Beauchemin says not all overnight camps will benefit, because it’s too late for some to launch operations this close to summer.
Day camps were allowed to reopen during the pandemic last summer and can do so again this season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2021.
The Canadian Press
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Friday released a proposed rule that would broaden the definition of a firearm, requiring some gun-making kits to include a serial number as the Biden administration moves forward to combat so-called "ghost guns."
It comes several weeks after President Joe Biden promised a crackdown on "ghost guns," homemade firearms that lack serial numbers used to trace them and are often purchased without a background check.
For years, federal and local law enforcement officials have been sounding the alarm about what they say is a loophole in federal firearms law, allowing people who are generally prohibited from owning guns to obtain them by making the weapons themselves. Ghost guns have increasingly been turning up at crime scenes and being purchased from gang members and other criminals by undercover federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents.
The Justice Department estimates that more than 23,000 weapons without serial numbers were seized by law enforcement from 2016 to 2020 and were identified in connection with 325 homicides or attempted homicides.
It's legal to build a gun in a home or a workshop, and advances in 3-D printing and milling have made it easier to do so. Ready-made kits can be purchased for a few hundred dollars online without the kind of background check required for traditional gun purchases.
But under the proposed rule, retailers would be required to run background checks before selling some of those kits that contain the parts necessary for someone to readily make a gun at home.
The rule sets forth several factors to determine whether the unfinished receivers could be easily convertible into a finished firearm, a senior Justice Department official said. If they meet that criteria, manufacturers would also be required to include a serial number, the official said. The rule also would require serial numbers to be added to homemade, un-serialized weapons that are traded in or turned into a federal firearms dealer.
The official could not discuss the matter ahead of a public announcement and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Once the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, the public will have 90 days to submit comments.
The critical component in building an untraceable gun is what is known as the lower receiver, a part typically made of metal or polymer. An unfinished receiver — sometimes referred to as an "80% receiver" — can be legally bought online with no serial numbers or other markings on it, no license required.
Converting the piece of metal into a firearm is relatively simple and takes only a few hours. A drill press or a metal cutting machine known as a Computer Numeric Control, or CNC, is used to create a few holes in the receiver and well out a cavity. The receiver is then combined with a few other parts to create a fully functioning semi-automatic rifle or handgun.
"Criminals and others barred from owning a gun should not be able to exploit a loophole to evade background checks and to escape detection by law enforcement," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. "This proposed rule would help keep guns out of the wrong hands and make it easier for law enforcement to trace guns used to commit violent crimes, while protecting the rights of law-abiding Americans."
Michael Balsamo, The Associated Press
