Congress urges Postal Service to undo changes slowing mail

Two Stupid People.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers from both parties are calling on the U.S. Postal Service to immediately reverse operational changes that are causing delays in deliveries across the country just as big volume increases are expected for mail-in election voting.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that changes imposed by the new Republican postmaster general “threaten the timely delivery of mail — including medicines for seniors, paychecks for workers and absentee ballots for voters — that is essential to millions of Americans.″

In separate letters, two Montana Republicans, Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte, also urged the Postal Service to reverse the July directive, which eliminates overtime for hundreds of thousands of postal workers and mandates that mail be kept until the next day if distribution centers are running late.

And 84 House members — including four Republicans — signed yet another letter blasting the changes and urging an immediate reversal.

“This action, if not rescinded, will negatively impact mail delivery for Montanans and unacceptably increase the risk of late prescriptions, commercial products or bill delivery,″ Daines said Thursday in a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.

“Delaying mail service is unacceptable,” Gianforte wrote to DeJoy. “Do not continue down this road.”

In their letter, the 84 House members said it is “vital that the Postal Service does not reduce mail delivery hours, which could harm rural communities, seniors, small businesses and millions of Americans who rely on the mail for critical letters and packages.″ The letter was led by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee, who has called DeJoy to testify at a hearing next month.

The flurry of letters came as the top Democrat on a Senate panel that oversees the Postal Service launched an investigation into the operational changes.

The cost-cutting measures, intended to address the Postal Service’s longtime financial problems, were imposed last month after DeJoy, a Republican fundraiser and former supply chain executive, took over the top job in June. DeJoy, 63, of North Carolina, is a major donor to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. He is the first postmaster general in nearly two decades who is not a career postal employee.

Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said DeJoy has failed to provide answers about the service delays, despite repeated requests.

Peters is asking the public to provide their stories about delays or other problems with deliveries.

The Senate inquiry comes as lawmakers increasingly focus on the Postal Service, which is reeling from mail delays and financial problems at a time when record numbers of mail ballots are expected in the November presidential election because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump, a vocal critic of the Postal Service, contended Wednesday that “the Post Office doesn’t have enough time” to handle a significant increase in mail-in ballots. “I mean you’re talking about millions of votes. .. It’s a catastrophe waiting to happen.″

DeJoy met with Schumer and Pelosi Wednesday in a closed-door session that Schumer called “a heated discussion.″ Democrats told DeJoy that “elections are sacred” and urged him not to impose cutbacks “at a time when all ballots count,″ Schumer said.

“For 245 years, the Postal Service has worked to provide reliable, consistent and on-time delivery that keeps Americans connected no matter where they live — especially in rural areas,” Peters said. “Unfortunately, in recent weeks, I’ve heard firsthand from constituents, postal workers and local officials in Michigan who have encountered problems with the timely and dependable service they count on to conduct business, get prescription medications and critical supplies and even exercise their right to vote.″

Democrats have pushed for $10 billion for the Postal Service in talks with Republicans on a huge COVID-19 response bill. The figure is down from a $25 billion plan in a House-passed coronavirus measure. Key Republicans whose rural constituents are especially reliant on the post office support the idea.

With her state’s vast and difficult terrain, “the Postal Service is a primary source of knowledge, commerce and basic necessities,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. For Alaskans, additional help from Congress “is truly a necessity — not a convenience,″ she said.

David Partenheimer, a spokesperson for the Postal Service, declined to comment on the letter from Democrats. But he said the agency is using all available resources to “match the workload created by the impacts of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.″ The Postal Service has “a liberal leave policy” and is aggressively trying to hire qualified candidates to replace tens of thousands of workers who have gotten sick or opted not to work because of the pandemic, he said.

“We appreciate the patience of our customers and the efforts of employees as conditions change on a day-to-day basis,″ he said.

Partenheimer disputed reports that the Postal Service is slowing down election mail or any other mail. “We continue to employ a robust and proven process to ensure proper handling of all election mail consistent with our standards,″ he said.

Republican Reps. Peter King of New York, David McKinley of West Virginia, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Daniel Webster of Florida joined the House letter, which was signed by 80 Democrats.

Milwaukee chief demoted over tear-gas use, other concerns

 

FILE - In this March 8, 2018 file photo, Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales poses at the Milwaukee Police Administration in Milwaukee. An oversight board is considering firing Morales after he ordered officers to use tear gas to break up protests over George Floyd’s death, the last straw for members upset with how the chief has handled incidents since the arrest of Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown in 2018. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, File)

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — An oversight board demoted Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales after questioning how he handled multiple incidents, including ordering officers to fire tear gas and pepper spray at protesters demonstrating over George Floyd’s death.

The city’s Fire and Police Commission unanimously voted Thursday evening to demote Morales to captain after three-and-a-half years on the job.

The chief’s attorney, Franklyn Gimbel, says Morales’ relationship with the commission has been deteriorating since he refused the chairman’s demand to fire an officer involved in the arrest of Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown in January 2018. Most recently the commission criticized Morales for authorizing tear gas to disperse protesters. The board has also raised questions over how the department has policed Black communities.

Morales joined the Milwaukee department in 1993 and was appointed chief in February 2018.

“His conduct is unbecoming, filled with ethical lapses and flawed decisions, making it inconsistent with someone who has the privilege of leading the Milwaukee Police Department,” Commissioner Raymond Robakowski said.

The board named Assistant Police Chief Michael J. Brunson Sr. as acting chief.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Thursday night he was angered by the commission’s action and that Morales should have been given a chance to respond to directives the panel had issued.

“The discussion surrounding this decision tonight was completely lacking in transparency. The action taken by the commission tonight was not good government,” Barrett said.

The decision comes as Wisconsin’s largest police department grapples with a surge in gun violence and plans security for a scaled-down Democratic National Convention.

A number of police chiefs across the country have left their jobs as pressure mounts to rethink American policing following Floyd’s death, including Erika Shields in Atlanta, Jami Resch in Portland, Oregon, and William Smith in Richmond, Virginia.

Milwaukee’s mayor had urged the commission to slow down, but Morales’ attorney, Franklyn Gimbel, said the odds appeared to be stacked against the chief.

“I’m unaware of him having any supporters (on the commission),” Gimbel, said. “There seems like a cumulative sense that they want to dump the guy.”

Gimbel declined comment to The Associated Press after the meeting.

Morales is Latino and the majority of the commissioners are Black. His relationship with the board has deteriorated since it named him to the post in February 2018.

Gimbel said problems began when officers arrested Brown for parking illegally in January 2018. Officers swarmed the Bucks guard and used a stun gun on him when he didn’t remove his hands from his pockets. The commission’s chairman, Steven DeVougas, who is Black, told Morales to fire one of the officers involved but Morales refused, the attorney said.

“From there it got stressful,” Gimbel said. “DeVougas viewed him as not being a team player.”

In February, the Milwaukee Police Association, which represents rank-and-file officers, filed an ethics complaint against DeVougas alleging he accompanied a real estate developer during an interview with police who suspected the developer of sexual assault. DeVougas practices real estate law for the developer’s business. The police association argued DeVougas’ presence during the interview was a misuse of his position as commission chairman. A city ethics board is investigating.

Fast forward to May and June, when Milwaukee police used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse protesters demonstrating over Floyd’s death. Floyd, who was Black, died on Memorial Day in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed his knee into his neck for nearly eight minutes.

The decision to use tear gas and pepper spray drew criticism from Democratic Mayor Tom Barrett. The commission in July banned the police department from using tear gas, prompting a number of departments from across the state slated to help with convention security to rescind their support.

The commission on July 20 ordered Morales to produce reams of records related to multiple incidents, including the decision to tear gas and pepper spray protesters, Brown’s arrest and the June arrest of a Black activist on suspicion of burglary. The panel also demanded Morales draft community policing standards, develop a discipline matrix to clarify how officers are disciplined and draft a policy requiring officers to wear face masks during the pandemic.

“We are in the midst of an urgent overdue reckoning on race and policing in this country,” the commission said in a statement Monday. “Only with transparency, accountability and truth will we move on as a society. This discussion may make some uncomfortable, and may bluntly scare others.”

None of the commissioners, including DeVougas, returned messages Thursday.

The commission gave Morales a week to respond to some of the requests and threatened to discipline or fire him if he didn’t comply. Gimbel has said those expectations are ridiculous; he noted the commission gave Morales’ predecessor, Ed Flynn, 50 days to respond to a similar request for information on the department’s pursuit policy.

The police department Wednesday blasted the orders as vague, invalid and possibly illegal. The department noted the orders weren’t approved during an open meeting and the requests seek information from still-open criminal and internal investigations.

The orders also could violate a 2018 settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union over stop-and-frisk policies because the department would have to release confidential information it has been sharing with a consultant group monitoring compliance with the settlement, the department said.

“The (orders) attempt to paint a picture that MPD has been non-compliant or outright insubordinate with the FPC,” the department said in a statement. “The manner in which business is being conducted at the FPC causes alarm.”

Barrett, the mayor, dove into the fray on Wednesday, sending a letter to the commission calling for an “orderly review” of the orders and the commission to remove DeVougas as chairman since he’s under investigation.

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Follow Todd Richmond on Twitter: https://twitter.com/trichmond1

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Jami Resch’s first name.

Portland mayor condemns rioters for 'attempting to commit murder'

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler Thursday evening condemned the actions of rioters who attempted to set fire to a police precinct and blocked the exits while officers were inside.
“When you commit arson with an accelerant in an attempt to burn down a building that is occupied by people who you have intentionally trapped inside, you are not demonstrating, you are attempting to commit murder," Wheeler said in a news conference with Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell.
"Don’t think for a moment that you are if you are participating in this activity, you are not being a prop for the reelection campaign of Donald Trump — because you absolutely are," he said. "You are creating the B-roll film that will be used in ads nationally to help Donald Trump during this campaign. If you don’t want to be part of that, then don’t show up.”
A riot was declared Wednesday evening when agitators descended upon the Portland Police Bureau’s East Precinct building, spray-painted over security cameras, broke a glass door with a 2x4, lit a fire using an accelerant and threw fireworks and other objects at officers, according to FOX 12 in Portland.
Police said that a truck also attempted to run over officers.
The front doors of the precinct were barricaded before the fire was started with more than 20 officers and civilian employees inside, police said, according to FOX 12.
Officers used tear gas to disperse the rioters and at least eight people were arrested. A federal court order bars police from using tear gas unless a riot is declared.
“I believe that city staff could have died last night,” Wheeler said. “I cannot and I will not tolerate that. This is not peaceful protests. This is not advocacy to advance reforms.”
Rioters also vandalized and broke into Portland’s Police Association Tuesday night.
Wheeler also urged peaceful protesters to avoid gatherings that could turn destructive or violent, according to Oregon Live.
“If you are a nonviolent demonstrator and you don’t want to be part of intentional violence, please stay away from these areas,” Wheeler said. “Our community must say that this violence is not Portland, that these actions do not reflect our values and these crimes are distracting from reform, not advancing.”
The clashes between thousands of protesters and federal agents sent by the Trump administration to guard the federal courthouse stopped after an agreement between Democratic Gov. Kate Brown and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that called for the agents to begin drawing down their presence in Portland’s downtown on July 30.
Then some instigators moved on to other police buildings across the city to cause problems.
Wednesday night’s violence in a residential neighborhood on the east side of the city began after a group of about 100 people gathered in a nearby park for a rally advertised on social media by the group Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front with the slogan “No cops. No prisons. Total abolition." The group then marched to the precinct.
At the same time, a larger peaceful group of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered downtown to give speeches. No police presence was necessary, Portland Police Bureau Capt. Tony Passadore said.
“Hurting people and trying to trap people in a building and burn them up, it’s just completely awful,” Portland Fire & Rescue Lt. Damon Simmons reiterated in the news conference, according to FOX 12.
Wheeler said the city anticipates “additional planned attacks on public buildings” in the coming days and said he was giving the police leeway to do what they needed to do to counter those plans as long as it can be done without threatening peaceful protesters.
On Wednesday, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said rioters aren’t forwarding the cause of racial injustice protesters. "Portlanders need to send a strong message that enough is enough," he said. “This movement is really powerful, but the violence has taken away from it.”
Wheeler was met with jeers from protesters two weeks ago when he joined them for a dialogue.
Portland has faced nearly 70 nights of anti-police protests since the police custody death of George Floyd.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Chief Justice Roberts Cartoons

Ben Shapiro praises NJ gym owners who 'destroyed' 'ignorant' Chris Cuomo in heated CNN interview

CNN primetime host Chris Cuomo was rhetorically "destroyed" by a pair of New Jersey gym owners during a wild interview, Ben Shapiro said Wednesday.
Discussing the contentious exchange, "The Ben Shapiro Show," host praised the co-owners of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, N.J., who appeared on “Cuomo Prime Time” to share their story after they were arrested for reopening in violation of state and local coronavirus guidelines.
"How ignorant is Chris Cuomo?" Shapiro told listeners. "Chris Cuomo is so ignorant that he got owned by a couple of New Jersey gym owners ... who want to reopen their gym."
"These guys, I would hazard to say they are not epidemiologists [but] they just own Chris Cuomo, it's amazing," the outspoken conservative personality went on. "I mean, they start citing stats, pointing out that the people who are dying of COVID-19 are not generally young people going to gyms, and they say, 'We are taking all the measures necessary, we are doing social distancing' .. and Chris Cuomo just gets destroyed."
Co-owners Frank Trumbetti and Ian Smith argued that their gym is just as essential as liquor stores and other businesses that were allowed to remain open when New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy forced gyms to shutter.
"This isn’t about opening up a gym, they have violated everyone’s constitutional rights,” Trumbetti said.
“We all have the right to make a living. We all have the right to actually do what we want to do as Americans. We are promised liberty,” he added. “They have actually put such oppressive restrictions on us that it’s just unacceptable to us.”
Cuomo, known for posting workout images on social media, countered that gyms could be a dangerous place amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“I would argue that the gym is a place to keep people safe, this is a place where people come to build their immune systems, the strength of their body on the outside and inside,” Smith fired back. “This is a place that saves lives.”
The CNN host eventually bickered with the gym owners over coronavirus statistics, with Trumbetti bashing Murphy in the process.
“We’re being villainized,” Smith said as Cuomo desperately tried to get a word in.
The gym owners and Cuomo then spoke over each other until Trumbetti used profanity live on air.
“Fifty-three point three percent of the deaths come from 0.6% of the population. Bottom line, that’s a f------g stat that nobody is talking about,” Trumbetti said.
Cuomo shot back, “Frank, watch your mouth, we’re on television,” despite CNN’s recent history of using profanity.
"This guy is just citing stats all over him and Cuomo has nothing," Shapiro said, "because his entire propaganda appeal has been 'Trump is a bad orange man ... [but] my brother, who completely blew it in New York, is the greatest governor in the history of the world.'"
"The political agenda is hard to miss here," Shapiro concluded. It really is."
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.

Pence rips Chief Justice Roberts in interview, calls him ‘disappointment to conservatives’

In a television interview scheduled to air Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence tears into U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, calling him a “disappointment to conservatives.”
The vice president’s comments – made during a discussion with Christian broadcaster CBN News – follow several cases before the court in which Roberts, a 2005 appointee of former President George W. Bush, has sided with the court’s liberals in majority opinions.
“We have great respect for the institution of the Supreme Court of the United States but Chief Justice Roberts has been a disappointment to conservatives,” Pence told CBN’s David Brody, according to the network’s website.
“I think several cases out of the Supreme Court are reminders of just how important this election is for the future of the Supreme Court,” the vice president added.

Vice President Mike Pence, left, had some sharp words regarding U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts during a TV interview scheduled to air Thursday.

Pence pointed in particular to Roberts voting in 2012 to uphold ObamaCare, a more recent decision to uphold Nevada’s coronavirus-related limits on church gatherings and a Louisiana case in which Roberts agreed that abortion-clinic doctors should have admitting privileges at local hospitals, CBN reported.
Regarding the Louisiana case, Pence called it a “wake-up call” for pro-life voters.
“That’s a very modest restriction on abortion providers,” Pence told Brody. “But a narrow majority in the Supreme Court still said it was unacceptable. I think it’s been a wake-up call for pro-life voters around the country who understand, in a very real sense, the destiny of the Supreme Court is on the ballot in 2020.”
Future openings on the Supreme Court have been a topic of speculation in recent years as Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, deals with increasingly frequent health-related issues – spurring talk of her possible retirement – and other members of the court advance in age. Ginsburg is the oldest member of the court, followed by Associate Justices Stephen Breyer, who will turn 82 on Aug. 15; Clarence Thomas, who is 72; and Samuel Alito, who is 70.
The remaining members of the court, including Roberts, are all younger than 70.
Pence has been in what might be described as “attack mode” in recent days, with sharp critiques targeting New York’s Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Democrats serving on the House Judiciary Committee.
In a Monday night appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” Pence fired back after Cuomo said the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic needed a “reset” from the “top.” (Pence heads President Trump’s Coronavirus Task Force.)
“Our hearts grieve for the fact that 1-in-5 of all the American lives that have been lost in the coronavirus pandemic were lost in the State of New York,” Pence told host Laura Ingraham, "and some of that was because of poor decisions by the state and by Governor Cuomo.”
Then on Fox News’ “The Story” on Tuesday, Pence told host Martha MacCallum that the House Judiciary Committee’s Democrats – including panel Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York -- were grandstanding during a recent hearing with Attorney General William Barr.
“Bill Barr is leading the Justice Department in this country with great integrity and brings a lifetime commitment to the rule of law,” the vice president said. “But to see it today, in the little bit that I was able to watch, it was clear that the Democrats wanted to hear themselves talk more than they wanted to hear from the attorney general of the United States.”
The complete CBN News interview with Pence is scheduled to air Thursday on the network’s “The 700 Club” program. Check local listings for time and station.

Washington Post issues major correction after botching Trump-Twitter post

The Washington Post sparked massive confusion Wednesday evening after erroneously reporting that President Trump was banned from tweeting because of a claim he made about the coronavirus.
Both Facebook and Twitter were cracking down on clips that were shared from the president's interview on "Fox & Friends" earlier in the day, where he continued his push for schools to be reopened in the fall. However, the tech giants removed the clips of him asserting that children are "almost immune" to the virus, citing the claim was "misinformation."
The Team Trump campaign account had uploaded the video on Twitter, in a post that the president later shared on his personal account.
After Twitter disabled the video, the platform further punished Team Trump by forbidding the account from tweeting until it took down the original post.
However, the Post apparently got its wires crossed in reporting what happened.
"Breaking: Twitter said it will require President Trump to remove a post containing coronavirus misinformation, banning him from tweeting until he does so," the Post began its report in bold text. "Twitter hid the post and said he will not be able to tweet from his account until he deletes it, although he can appeal the decision."
The Post then shared a quote from a Twitter spokesperson that appeared to allude to the president instead of his campaign, saying the tweet was "in violation of the Twitter Rules on COVID-19 misinformation. The account owner will be required to remove the Tweet before they can Tweet again.”
Several Washington Post journalists shared the inaccurate information on Twitter, spreading the report across the platform. They later deleted their tweets.
The paper ultimately issued a correction, writing at the bottom of its report, "Twitter penalized Team Trump, the president’s campaign account. An earlier version of this article said that Twitter penalized President Trump’s account."
Facebook and Twitter confirmed to Fox News that they took action against the videos uploaded by the Trump campaign.
"This video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from COVID-19 which is a violation of our policies around harmful COVID misinformation," Facebook spokeswoman Liz Bourgeois told FOX News in a statement.
A Twitter spokesperson similarly told FOX News the tweet was "in violation of the Twitter rules on COVID-19 misinformation" and that the Trump campaign would "be required to remove the Tweet before they can Tweet again."
Trump campaign spokeswoman Courtney Parella told FOX News that President Trump was "stating a fact that children are less susceptible to the coronavirus."
"Another day, another display of Silicon Valley’s flagrant bias against this President, where the rules are only enforced in one direction," she added. "Social media companies are not the arbiters of truth.”
Fox News' Lucas Manfredi contributed to this story. 

Portland police chief says riots not helping cause of racial justice: ‘Enough is enough’

Portland, Ore., police Chief Chuck Lovell on Wednesday morning decried violent instigators who he said are marring the message of mostly peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters.
"Portlanders need to send a strong message that enough is enough," Lovell told reporters at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, according to KGW-TV in Portland. "This is not forwarding the goals that are going to lead to better outcomes for people of color. This movement is really powerful, but the violence has taken away from it. ... This is not what Portland is about. This is not what we need in our city."
The protests, which have sometimes turned into late-night riots focused on the Multnomah County Justice Center and the federal courthouse, have continued unabated for more than two months since the May 25 death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
Lovell said there have been many large peaceful protests that required no police presence but the smaller offshoot actions -- setting fires, breaking windows and throwing objects at police -- are taking away from the larger message.
Late Wednesday, Portland police declared a riot and said they believe an explosive device had been left outside a precinct. People were ordered to disperse, and some streets were closed.
“I’ve never seen a summer like this,” Lovell, who was named police chief in early June, said.
He added that shooting have also spiked since the defunding of the Gun Violence Reduction Team over accusations of racism.
There were 99 shootings in July, up from 35 in July 2019, police said, according to OregonLive.com.
Lovell told reporters he doesn’t believe the team was racist even though it arrested more Black suspects than anyone else. He said the majority of victims are Black – 66% last month.
“A lot of those stops end with handshakes and conversation,” he said. “And there's a real familiarity and people miss it. We hear from a lot of people in the community saying hey we need the Gun Violence Reduction Team back. We need these officers that know our community, that know this issue of gun violence that we really relied on to help stay safe."
He added that taking police off patrol to cover protests has left fewer officers to respond to emergencies, according to KGW.
Downtown protests have become more peaceful since federal officers agreed to leave last week, so some instigators have moved to other police buildings across the city to cause problems.
Early Wednesday, police had declared a riot and made three arrests after saying demonstrators set fires, erected barricades in a street and broke into the police union headquarters. Police said someone also fired a gun during the unrest and a pickup truck accelerated into the crowd while pushing an unoccupied motorcycle in front of it.
Lovell wrote a New York Times op-ed Monday titled, “I’m the Police Chief in Portland. Violence Isn’t the Answer.”
“As a Black man and a public servant, I see that spectacle is drowning out the voices that need to be heard to make positive change,” he wrote. "I agree with a local pastor, E.D. Mondainé, who stated these 'spectacles' are drowning out the voices that need to be heard to make positive change. This violence is doing nothing to further the Black Lives Matter movement."
Lovell also praised officers’ “professionalism” and said he has confidence in his community.