Obama rebukes ‘politician’ Warren as trade feud escalates

A growing feud between President Obama and Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren kicked up a notch Saturday, with the president rejecting her recent warnings about a long-sought trade deal and saying in an interview, “Elizabeth is a politician just like everybody else.”
The president and the liberal Massachusetts senator have been sparring amid an internal Democratic battle over Obama’s trade push.
The administration wants Congress to give the president so-called “fast-track” authority, which would ease the ability of the president to secure trade pacts – in this case, a major agreement with Pacific nations called the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Most recently, Warren has argued that giving Obama the new authority could open the door for a future administration to strike a deal rolling back provisions of the landmark 2010 financial industry regulatory overhaul.
The president, in an interview with Yahoo News, said that’s “wrong.”
He challenged the notion that he would have had “this massive fight with Wall Street” and then sign a provision to undo that legislation.
“I'd have to be pretty stupid and it doesn't make any sense,” Obama said. “There is no evidence that could ever be used in this way. This is pure speculation. She and I both taught law school and one of the things you do as a law professor is you spin out hypotheticals and this is all hypothetical, speculative.”
Asked if this is personal, Obama said, “You know the truth of the matter is … Elizabeth is a politician just like everybody else, and she has a voice that she wants to get out there and I understand that, and on most issues she and I deeply agree. On this one, though, her arguments don't stand the test of fact and scrutiny.”
Politico recently reported that Warren’s criticism has administration officials fuming, and calling her attacks “baseless.” It comes as the administration is trying to win over a bipartisan coalition to green-light the “fast-track” authority.
From his left flank, Obama has also faced transparency concerns. Warren recently co-authored a letter asking Obama to make public classified information on the trade deal.
While some liberal groups have urged Warren to run for president in 2016, so far she has denied interest in doing so.

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Krauthammer: Stop nationalizing local enforcement

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer told viewers on "Special Report with Bret Baier" Friday that the federal government should "stop nationalizing the local law enforcement."
He questioned Attorney General Loretta Lynch's announcement that the Justice Department will investigate the Baltimore police's handling of the case of Freddie Gray, the 25-year old who died from a spinal injury suffered while in custody.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake made the request to Lynch, who in recent days took over from Eric Holder and visited Baltimore in the aftermath of riots and unrest.
"These laws originally intended to deal with recalcitrant, hostile often racially hostile administrations using their power against minorities," said Krauthammer.
Krauthammer said the situation in Baltimore does not rise to the level of an outside review. "
We have an African-American mayor, an African-American police chief,  African-American city attorney, and of the six people charged in that wrongful death, let's say allegedly wrongful death, three of them are African-American and the one facing the most serious charges is himself African-American," he said.
"It doesn't fit the pattern. At some point we're going to have to say look, localities have to regulate themselves unless there is something egregious and some reason why you cannot trust the local administration," Krauthammer added.

Sources: Graham to announce 2016 White House bid on June 1

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham plans to announce his presidential campaign on June 1, GOP sources tell Fox News. 
Graham, a three-term senator from South Carolina, is known as a foreign policy hawk in Congress. Though he is considered a long shot -- and ranks near the bottom in recent polls of declared and potential Republican presidential candidates -- Graham could help drive the debate on national security among a GOP field that includes candidates who sharply question policies ranging from drone strikes to NSA surveillance.
Graham, however, polls better in his home state of South Carolina, which holds the critical first-in-the-South primary. Graham is considering launching the campaign from Seneca, S.C., where he lives.
A Graham spokesperson would not confirm the June 1 date when reached by Fox News.
Several other Republicans are considering jumping in the race in the coming weeks. Currently declared candidates include: Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas; Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky; Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee; former HP head Carly Fiorina; and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

Illinois justices overturn state's landmark 2013 pension law

The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday struck down a 2013 law that sought to fix the nation's worst government-employee pension crisis, a ruling that forces the state to find another way to overcome a massive budget deficit. 
In a unanimous decision, the seven justices declared the law passed 18 months ago violates the state constitution because it would leave pension promises "diminished or impaired."
"In enacting the provisions, the General Assembly overstepped the scope of its legislative power. This court is therefore obligated to declare those provisions invalid," Justice Lloyd Karmeier said in writing the court's opinion.
The decree puts new Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats who control the General Assembly back at the starting line in trying to figure out how to wrestle down a $111 billion deficit in what's necessary to cover its state employee retirement obligations. The hole is so deep the state has in recent years had to reserve up to $7 billion -- or one-fifth of its operating funds -- to keep pace.
Most states faced the same public employee pension crisis, exacerbated by the Great Recession, and took steps to remedy the problem. But Illinois balked for years at addressing the crisis until former Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and fellow Democrats who control the General Assembly overcame opposition from union allies and struck the deal, amid warnings that it might not pass constitutional muster.
After the changes were adopted in December 2013, retired employees, state-worker labor unions and others filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the law on constitutional grounds.
The high court opinion means the state must keep its pledge on pensions.
The law dealt with four of the state's five pension programs -- the Legislature did not include the judges' account because of the conflict posed by expected legal action.  The shortfall in the amount of money necessary to meet all pension obligations has reached stifling depths largely because of years of skimping on -- or skipping -- on annual pension contributions by past governors and General Assemblies.
It would have crimped pensions perks in several ways in an effort to erase the shortfall by 2044. Perhaps most significantly, it would have erased the 3 percent compounded cost-of-living adjustment added in 1989, replacing it with a formula that gave the increases on a portion of benefits, depending on years of service. Some would have had the option of freezing their pensions and contributing to a 401(k)-style plan.
It also would have delayed the retirement age for workers aged 45 and younger, on a sliding scale. Workers would have had to contribute 1 percent less to their retirements and the pension agencies would have been allowed to sue the state if it didn't contribute its full annual portion to the funds. Those were additions to help the matter survive a court challenge.
At the March argument before the high court, the opponents to the law argued that the constitution's language was clear -- promised pensions could not be reduced.
State lawyers contended the government had the right to exercise "police powers" in time of crisis, and that the 2008 recession, which decimated retirement fund investment portfolios, provided the crisis. But under close questioning from the bench, the state's lawyer acknowledged that past governors and legislatures shorted pension payments to save money in the short term.

Boston University prof flunks 'white masculinity' in controversial tweets

Higher Education?

Critics say a newly-hired Boston University professor has crossed the line with recent tweets bashing whites, but the school says it’s simply free speech.
“White masculinity isn’t a problem for america’s colleges, white masculinity is THE problem for america’s colleges,” Saida Grundy, an incoming assistant professor of sociology and African-American studies at Boston University, tweeted in March.
In another tweet from January, she wrote: “Every MLK week I commit myself to not spending a dime in white-owned businesses. and every year i find it nearly impossible.”
In another, she called white males a “problem population.”

“White masculinity isn’t a problem for america’s colleges, white masculinity is THE problem for america’s colleges.”
- Saida Grundy, incoming assistant professor at Boston University

“Why is white America so reluctant to identify white college males as a problem population?” she asked.
The tweets were first noticed by student Nick Pappas, who posted them on his website “SoCawlege.com” and questioned how Grundy could be able to teach a diverse classroom given the racial hostility in her tweets.
“You have to teach college aged white males eventually, no?... this seems like you are unqualified to grade their work as you clearly demonstrate some kind of special bias against them,” he wrote.

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Pappas, a junior at University of Massachusetts Amherst, told FoxNews.com that he hopes to “show the rest of America how nasty people on the far left can get at colleges.”
Those who follow campus politics say they are not shocked.
"I'm not surprised that Boston University is hiring a racist to teach African American Studies," David Horowitz, author of “Reforming our Univerisities” told FoxNews.com. "Anti-white racism is rampant in Black Studies programs which are generally indoctrination programs in left wing politics."
Boston University stands by the professor, who will start working at the college in June.
“Professor Grundy is exercising her right to free speech and we respect her right to do so,” Boston University spokesman Colin Riley said.
Grundy did not respond to a request for comment from FoxNews.com, and has made her twitter account private.
Horowitz said the university’s reaction betrays double-standards on race.
“If she were a white racist rather than an anti-white racist, she would never be hired. Professors are supposed to be experts in some scholarly field, and professionals in their classroom discourse. They don't have a license to indoctrinate students in their prejudices - whether those prejudices are right or left,” he said.
Grundy posted a number of other controversial tweets, for instance claiming that only whites enslaved entire generations of people. “Deal with your white sh*t, white people. slavery is a *YALL* thing,” she said.
Free speech advocates say that Grundy should have a right to her speech, but say the university speech policy is hypocritical because it allows the university to censor offensive or bigoted speech if it wanted to.
“Professor Grundy should and must have the freedom to publicly express her opinions on controversial topics. Unfortunately, though, [she] could be punished if she were to send such tweets through the BU computer network, as the university bans ‘transmitting...offensive’ material,” Robert Shibley of Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) told FoxNews.com.
“In addition, if she were a student, she could also potentially be punished for violating policies banning ‘bigotry, hatred, and intolerance,’ and for not expressing her opinion ‘in good taste and decency.’ … [BU] should eliminate these policies so that it can defend every student and faculty member's right to free speech – not just Professor Grundy's.”

Defense attorneys in Gray case call for state's attorney to be recused

Defense attorneys representing six Baltimore police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray filed a motion Friday to have the case dismissed, or for the city’s top prosecutor to be recused from the case and replaced by a special prosecutor, citing alleged conflict of interest.
The attorneys argue in the documents that the officers were victims of an 'overzealous prosecution' by State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who they claim has personal and political motivations in the case.
Among the alleged conflicts of interest cited, the motion includes Mosby's marriage to the city councilman who represents the district where Gray died. 
The motion claims that Mike Mosby had a professional and personal interest in having riots in his district that erupted after Gray's death come to an end, and that Marilyn Mosby therefore had an interest in filing charges quickly.
“...His wife, Marilyn Mosby, had a professional and personal interest in accommodating the needs of her husband – his political future directly affects her personal, professional and political interests,” the motion argues.
Defense attorneys contend that Mosby's relationship with the Gray family attorney also creates a conflict of interest. The attorney, William Murphy, is a close friend, ally and lawyer for Mosby.
The filing also cites a pending motion against her office, her office’s role in investigating the case and Mosby’s personal relationships with potential witnesses as reasons she should be recused from the case.
The defense also argues that Mosby denied the officers their right to due process by using inciting rhetoric when announcing the charges last week. Mosby told protesters: “I heard your call for ‘no justice no peace.’ Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man…You’re at the forefront of this cause and as young people, our time is now.”
The motion claims her words betrayed her personal and political motivations and were another sign of a conflict of interest.
“Rarely in the history of any criminal case has a prosecutor so directly maintained so many conflicts of interest. Rarer still are instances where such clear conflicts exist and a prosecutor steadfastly refuses to recuse him or herself,” the motion says.
The court filings come as Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the Department of Justice intends to launch a civil rights investigation into the practices of the Baltimore Police Department, particularly allegations of excessive force and widespread discrimination.
The civil rights investigation, similar to ones undertaken in cities including Ferguson, Missouri, and Cleveland, will examine the policing patterns and practices of the entire police department. It is far broader in scope than a separate Justice Department investigation that aims to determine whether Gray's civil rights were violated.
Baltimore suffered days of unrest after Gray died April 19 following a week in a coma after his arrest. Protesters threw bottles and bricks at police the night of his funeral on April 27, injuring nearly 100 officers. More than 200 people were arrested as cars and businesses burned.

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