HOUSTON — The kitchen of the detention center here was bustling as a dozen immigrants boiled beans and grilled hot dogs, preparing lunch for about 900 other detainees. Elsewhere, guards stood sentry and managers took head counts, but the detainees were doing most of the work — mopping bathroom stalls, folding linens, stocking commissary shelves.
As the federal government cracks down on immigrants in the country illegally and forbids businesses to hire them, it is relying on tens of thousands of those immigrants each year to provide essential labor — usually for $1 a day or less — at the detention centers where they are held when caught by the authorities.
This work program is facing increasing resistance from detainees and criticism from immigrant advocates. In April, a lawsuit accused immigration authorities in Tacoma, Wash., of putting detainees in solitary confinement after they staged a work stoppage and hunger strike. In Houston, guards pressed other immigrants to cover shifts left vacant by detainees who refused to work in the kitchen, according to immigrants interviewed here. For more http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/us/using-jailed-migrants-as-a-pool-of-cheap-labor.html?hp&_r=0
On Thursday came the first flight of Air Europa from Madrid, Spain. It is the first flight to Madrid from the little more than one year ago Iberia decided to suspend direct flights between San Juan and Madrid. The Government anticipates that with the start of this route will come an average of 15,000 European tourists a year, with an economic impact of $38 million in its first year.
Obama Looks to Boost Young Minorities, TIME
President Barack Obama on Thursday will formally launch a new initiative to provide greater opportunities for young black and Hispanic men, a head-first dive into racial economic disparities for a president who has often avoided the issue.Through what’s being called the “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative, the White House is partnering with businesses, nonprofits and foundations to address disparities in education, criminal justice and employment. Groups have invested $150 million in the program, according to the White House, and have pledged to invest another $200 million over the next five years. Obama will also sign an order Thursday to establish the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force, which will determine best practices both inside and outside of government to address the challenges faced by young minority men. Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will continue to work on the initiative even after they leave the White House, officials said. Continue Reading
Spying on Muslims is Legal?, CNN
Since September 11, 2001, the New York Police Department has used community mapping, video surveillance, photography and confidential informants to map Muslim life in and around New York. No detail has proved too remote for the prying eyes of the NYPD. Mosques, student groups, restaurants, even grade schools, have all been surveilled.
In 2012, a group of New Jersey plaintiffs sued the NYPD, alleging that the spying program chills religious expression and stigmatizes Islam. The plaintiffs include an Iraq war veteran, a prominent mosque and a math teacher. Each was monitored by the NYPD absent any evidence of wrongdoing.
Missouri Executes Teen Killer, TIME
A Missouri man who was convicted of abducting, raping and killing a Kansas City teenager while she waited for a school bus in 1989 was executed early Wednesday morning.
Michael Taylor was pronounced dead at 12:10 am at the state prison in Bonne Terre, Mo. after being put to death by lethal injection. His attorneys had filed last-minute appeals arguing that the execution drug the state purchased from a compounding pharmacy could cause inhumane pain and suffering. The AP Reports that Taylor gave no final statement and showed no obvious signs of distress.
In March 1998, Taylor and another man, Roderick Nunley, abducted 15-year-old Ann Harrison as she waited in her driveway for the school bus. The two men raped Harrison and, fearing she could identify them, stabbed her 10 times with kitchen knives. They left her body in the trunk of a stolen car, which
was found the next day. DNA evidence later linked the pair with the crime. Nunley remains on death row with appeals pending. Continue Reading
Volcanic Plain in Peru, NYT
Sitting on a flat volcanic plain 18,000 feet above sea level, the great Quelccaya ice cap of Peru is the largest piece of ice in the tropics. In recent decades, as scientists have watched it melt at an accelerating pace, it has also become a powerful symbol of global warming. Yet the idea that the ice cap has retreated over time because of a change in temperature, rather than other possible factors like reduced snowfall, has always been more of a surmise than a proven case. In fact, how to interpret the disappearance of glaciers throughout the tropics has been a scientific controversy. Continue Reading
Facebook Email Closes Down, CNN
Didn't think so. Apparently not many others did, either. So after three-plus years, the world's largest social media outlet is pulling the plug on its little-used e-mail service, the company confirmed Tuesday.
"We're making this change because most people haven't been using their Facebook e-mail address, and we can focus on improving our mobile messaging experience for everyone," Facebook said in a statement.
For those who do have a Facebook mail account, messages will be forwarded to the primary e-mail address listed in a user's account, the company said. The changes are planned to roll out in March, and users can turn off that forwarding option if they prefer not to have their personal inboxes flooded with these messages. Continue Reading
Venezuelan Opposition, CNN
As Venezuelan opposition leaders push for demonstrators to stay in the streets, "he who tires, loses" is their mantra.
Lilian Tintori de Lopez, the wife of jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, held up a T-shirt showing the phrase before protesters Monday.
Beside her, opposition leader Henrique Capriles called for demonstrators to keep demanding change from the South American country's government and described President Nicolas Maduro as "an error in the history of the country."
Outrage at soaring crime and a tanking economy triggered protests earlier this month. Continue Reading
Egypt's Military Issues, CNN
Egypt's military-backed government resigned Monday, adding new uncertainty to the nation's three years of upheaval.
The government headed by Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi turned in its resignation to President Adly
Mansour accepted the resignations and thanked the prime minister and his Cabinet for their service.
"The presidency greatly values the tireless efforts of Dr. Beblawi and members of the government at a pivotal moment in the nation's history," Mansour said in a statement.
State media reported that Mansour is expected to appoint a transitional prime minister in the coming days who will be tasked with putting together a new Cabinet to manage state affairs until presidential elections in April.
The resignations come as disorganized strikes ripple through the work force. In recent weeks, doctors, low-ranking police officers, postal workers, transport workers and textile workers have all gone on strike for short periods of time. Continue Reading
Junk Food, TIME
The new rules from the White House and the Department of Agriculture prohibit advertisements for unhealthy foods on school campuses during the school day, including sugary drinks that account for 90 percent of such ads in school. An ad for regular Coca-Cola, for example, would be banned from appearing on a scoreboard at a high school football game, though ads for Diet Coke and Dasani water, owned by the same company, would be allowed. Junk food ads like a Coca-Cola scoreboard would be phased out under the new rules and would not have to be replaced overnight.
“The idea here is simple—our classrooms should be healthy places where kids aren’t bombarded with ads for junk food,” First Lady Michelle Obama said in a statement. “Because when parents are working hard to teach their kids healthy habits at home, their work shouldn’t be undone by unhealthy messages at school.” Continue Reading