BY BRIAN BEUTLER, PRIYANKA ARIBINDI & CROOKED MEDIA
Tuesday, August 13, 2019 | —Acting Immigration head/racist poet laureate Ken Cuccinelli’s update to the Statue of Liberty | LET THE FINGER-POINTING BEGIN | There is new information about the circumstances of Jeffrey Epstein’s death in a Manhattan jail over the weekend, as well as where the investigation is headed. But the biggest questions remain unanswered. Here’s what we’ve learned since yesterday: - The two guards who were assigned to watch Epstein at the time of his death have been placed on leave, according to the Justice Department, and the warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center has been temporarily reassigned.
- Though Epstein had been taken off suicide watch despite a recent attempt to take his own life, guards in the unit where he was incarcerated were nevertheless supposed to check in on prisoners every half hour—but they did not do so for several hours.
- A user of the anonymous message board 4chan, popular among white nationalists and right wing trolls, knew of Epstein’s death nearly an hour before the news broke publicly, and posted the following message: “[D]on't ask me how I know, but Epstein died an hour ago from hanging, cardiac arrest. Screencap this."
Here’s what we still don’t know: - What was the official cause of Epstein’s death? (The results of his autopsy are still pending.)
- Why was he taken off suicide watch?
- Why wasn’t he looked after every 30 minutes?
- Who was the anonymous 4chan poster and how did he or she know what had happened?
Unfortunately, the pace of disclosures may now slow. Epstein’s lawyers have hired lawyers, and with so much legal and professional jeopardy to go around, people will likely clam up and new information will be harder to come by. | Under a new law passed earlier this year, Louisiana expanded voting rights to nearly 37,000 citizens on probation and parole. However, the state has done little to inform them of the change, leaving it up to organizers to spread the word with ads on social media, notifications at parole and probation offices, and door-to-door canvassing. What’s worse is that the state has made the process of registering these newly eligible voters intentionally difficult. They must first pick up letters of eligibility from their parole or probation offices, then bring those letters to the registrar’s office, along with valid ID. The state’s voter registration deadline for the upcoming gubernatorial primary is in October. Live in Louisiana? Register to vote (or check your registration status) here → Don’t live in Louisiana? You can also register to vote (or check your registration status) here → | North Carolina! The first election of taking back shit from Trump is happening in YOUR state in ONE month. On September 10, North Carolina will hold a special election to determine who will represent its ninth district in the House of Representatives. This is a showdown between Democrat and marine veteran Dan McCready versus Republican Dan Bishop, a guy who invests in white supremacist websites, believes that Black Lives Matter should be condemned as a racist group, and famously tried to ban trans people from using bathrooms that match their identities. Great guy. This election is being held now (for the second time) because Republicans forged and stole absentee ballots in the first election. This was one of the biggest election fraud cases in U.S. history. Fortunately they got caught, so here we are. If you live in NC-9, the deadline to register to vote is this Friday, August 16! Go to votesaveamerica.com/register to make sure you're registered → If you want to help prevent Republicans from gaining this seat, chip in to Dan McCready's campaign now so they can build the ground game they need to win. You can donate directly to his campaign or by going to the North Carolina section of votesaveamerica.com/states → If you want to hear the rest of the election fraud story, check out Rigging North Carolina—this month's series on Crooked Minis → | The National Immigration Law Center and New York State Attorney General Letitia James plan to sue the Trump administration over its new proposal to deny immigrants pathways to citizenship if they have used or might use public benefits. Good. President Trump decided to delay 10 percent tariffs on certain Chinese imports until December 15 because he knows that the costs of the tariffs will be borne by consumers (i.e., Americans who will be pissed when holiday gifts are more expensive) even though he pretends that’s not true. The Chinese military is reportedly gathering near Hong Kong’s border amid continued pro-democracy protests on the semiautonomous island. Thousands of protestors caused a second day of flight cancellations at Hong Kong’s international airport. According to Chinese media, the protesters are “asking for self-destruction.” The Trump administration has unsurprisingly not taken a stand on behalf of democracy. Billionaire impeachment commercial guy Tom Steyer has almost bought his way onto the September Democratic debate stage. Steyer has spent $7 million on commercials, and $2.6 million on digital ads (more than any other candidate has spent this year so far), which has helped him reach the 130,000 donor threshold for the third debate, leaving him just one qualifying poll away from securing a spot. He has pledged to spend $100 million of his own money on his campaign. Just saying, this would be enough to fund hundreds of Democratic state-legislative campaigns. Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will not run for president, but she will bring her voting rights organization, Fair Fight 2020, nationwide. The group will focus on helping Democratic Party leaders and activists across 20 states ensure that voters have minimal problems casting ballots and that the ballots are counted ahead of the 2020 general election. Guatemala’s newly elected president, Alejandro Giammettei, has promised to review the immigration agreement that outgoing President Jimmy Morales struck with the Trump administration requiring migrants from Honduras and El Salvador to apply for asylum in Guatemala before doing so in the United States. Giammettei has said the deal isn’t right for the country. The founder of Barstool Sports violated labor laws by threatening to fire any employees who tried to learn about unionizing on Twitter dot com. Thoughts and prayers to the lawyers who have to handle this one. The NFL will partner with Jay Z’s Roc Nation agency for the Super Bowl halftime show as well as the league’s social justice initiatives, which apparently exist! News to us! | A California school district outside of San Francisco “knowingly and intentionally maintained and exacerbated” racial segregation, and opened a school that was intentionally segregated. The students in the Sausalito Marin City district are divided into two schools—one is a racially and economically integrated charter school in a predominantly white area of Sausalito, the other is a school with overwhelmingly poor, Black, and Hispanic students in Marin City, a which is more diverse. The district agreed to desegregate its schools by the 2020-21 school year, and give students who were hurt by the segregation scholarships and counseling. Though state attorneys general typically defend districts against these kinds of claims, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said it was a deliberate scheme by the school district officials, and that the district violated the state’s constitution’s equal protection clause. | No matter if you’re returning from a long trip, or just a long day at work, it always feels good to come home. Taking a hot shower, drying off with a fluffy towel, getting comfortable on the sofa and finally falling back into your own cozy bed. Make the best part of your journey returning home with Parachute’s premium quality, very comfortable everyday essentials. For free shipping and returns → parachutehome.com | Two experimental Ebola treatments have worked so effectively that they will now be offered to all patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The treatments saved about 90 percent of newly infected patients, and have raised hopes that the current epidemic and future outbreaks of the disease can be stopped. An Ebola outbreak in the DRC has killed more than 1,800 people since it began last year. | Did someone forward you this email? Sign up to get What A Day in your inbox! Want to advertise with us? What are you waiting for?! | If you prefer not to receive these emails, you may unsubscribe. 7162 Beverly Blvd #212, Los Angeles, CA, 90036 © Crooked Media 2018. All Rights Reserved. | | |