Justice Department says Trump undercuts himself in Mar-a-Lago documents arguments
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump is trying to have it both ways by arguing that classified documents seized from his Mar-a-Lago home are personal property but also covered by executive privilege, the Justice Department said.
In a Tuesday court filing, the government took on Trump’s claims that the Presidential Records Act gives him broad discretion to decide that White House documents are personal and therefore not covered by the law. The Justice Department said that clashed with his claim that those documents are also protected by the executive privilege afforded presidents.
“If Plaintiff truly means to suggest that, while president, he chose to categorize records with markings such as ‘SECRET’ and ‘TOP SECRET’ as his personal records for purposes of the PRA, then he cannot assert that the very same records are protected by executive privilege — i.e., that they are ‘presidential communications’ made in furtherance of the ‘performance of his official duties,’” the Justice Department said.
The government’s filing was in support of its request that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in West Palm Beach, Florida, exclude about 100 classified documents from her order halting the Justice Department from using the thousands of records seized by the FBI at Mar-a-Lago while a so-called special master reviews them for privilege issues.
—Bloomberg News
California and New York could soon change how workers everywhere negotiate salaries
WASHINGTON — Anyone who has ever been on a job hunt knows that it is often difficult to find out what a new position might pay.
That could be about to change. The governors of California and New York, both Democrats, have bills on their desks that would require companies to post pay ranges on job advertisements. Those two states — and their outsized economies and populations — could spur most larger companies to adopt the policy nationwide, advocates and experts say.
All workers could be affected, but evidence suggests that more transparent pay practices are particularly helpful for women and people of color, who are more likely to get low-balled in salary negotiations.
“It’s a tidal wave, really, to have the two coasts embrace salary transparency in this way,” said Beverly Neufeld, president and founder of PowHer New York, which helped push an ordinance in New York City, set to take effect in November, and one modeled after it at the state level that is now on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk.
—Los Angeles Times
‘Rainbow fentanyl’ looks like candy, and children may be the intended targets
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The extremely potent synthetic opioid fentanyl is appearing in a new form — colorful pills and powders that look like candy or sidewalk chalk, and officials are cautioning that children may be the intended target of the potentially lethal disguise.
Broward County Public Schools sent an alert to parents, faculty and staff recently to be aware of the candy-colored pills, dubbed “rainbow fentanyl,” and said the drug has been found in actual candy, such as Jolly Ranchers, and molded into gummy bears in some parts of the country.
Though the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Fort Lauderdale Police Department and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said there have not been any reported cases of rainbow fentanyl to date in the area, the School District’s message said “law enforcement has advised that it is only a matter of time before it makes its way into our community.”
Thousands of the colorful pills were seized recently at a port along the U.S. border in what the Drug Enforcement Administration called an “alarming emerging trend” that “appears to be a new method used by drug cartels” to reach young people.
—South Florida Sun Sentinel
Armenia says dozens killed in border clashes with Azerbaijan
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at least 49 of his country’s soldiers were killed in border clashes with Azerbaijan early Tuesday in the deadliest fighting since a 2020 war between the Caucasus nations.
While the intensity of the conflict has declined, “Azerbaijan’s attacks continue,” Pashinyan told lawmakers, saying Armenia had appealed to Russia and other allies for help. He spoke after the Russian Foreign Ministry urged Azerbaijan and Armenia to abide “in full” by a 9 a.m. cease-fire that Moscow said it had negotiated between the sides.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry said Azerbaijani forces shelled towns in southern and central Armenia and also used unmanned drones in attacks. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry denied it started the conflict and said its forces responded to “large scale Armenian provocation.”
The fighting is the worst since thousands died on both sides in a 44-day war over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh that was halted in November 2020 when Russian President Vladimir Putin brokered a truce. The tensions have flared as Putin faces serious setbacks in his invasion of Ukraine with Russian troops retreating under pressure from a rapid Ukrainian counteroffensive.
—Bloomberg News
