The 7 Things You Should Be Talking About Today
1. President Donald Trump says he can see a path to citizenship for illegals
— In a hard break from his base, Donald Trump told reporters citizenship is going to happen: “It’s going to happen — over a period of 10 to 12 years. If somebody’s done a great job and worked hard, it keeps the incentive to do a great job… I think it’s a nice thing to have the incentive, after a period of years, of being able to become a citizen.”
— Breitbart News has responded by referring to Donald Trump as “Amnesty Don“.
2. Larry Nassar, suspected of molesting more than 150 girls, sentenced to 175 years
— Nassar, who was a doctor for USA Gymnastics, pleaded guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct and acknowledged he used his position to assault and molest girls under the guise of medical treatment.
— Judge Rosemarie Aquillina told Nassar, “I’ve just signed your death warrant”.
3. President Trump says he is ready to testify under oath; his lawyers aren’t so sure
— Trump informed a gaggle of reporters that he would be willing to speak with Mueller under oath and that he is excited to do so.
— The President’s lawyers backtracked, said they are still handling the specifics and that the president spoke “hurriedly”.
4. Don’t worry about the missed texts between FBI employees; it was just a “glitch” that affected 10 percent of FBI phones
— FBI agent Peter Strzok and his lover, FBI lawyer Lisa Page, were just a pair of thousands of phones that the FBI failed to properly archive for months and totally isn’t part of an internal cover-up as many GOP legislators allege.
— Both individuals left Special Counsel Bob Mueller’s team after the anti-Trump texts were discovered, but not before participating in the probe.
5. Alabama has a new list of failing schools with 24 schools added and 24 removed from the list
— The list is compiled by taking the bottom 6 percent of schools in the state; scores are based on standardized tests across the state given to students at the same level, yet districts claim the rankings are inaccurate.
— Options exist for parents in failing schools to transfer to other public schools or to private schools thanks to the Alabama Accountability Act.
6. DOJ is targeting sanctuary cities
— 23 sanctuary cities are being asked to provide information to federal immigration authorities about whether they are cooperating with federal law; they are being threatened with subpoenas if they do not comply.
— Mayors and the president of the U.S Conference of Mayors have bristled at this request, claiming it is a “racist assault” on “immigrant communities”.
7. Another day, more companies giving their employees big bonuses, citing the tax cuts as a reason
— Walt Disney Company will give 125,000 employees a $1,000 bonus, will also offer $25 million dollars a year for tuition costs for hourly employees.
— Verizon announced it will be giving 50 shares of restricted stock to full-time employees who aren’t executives, worth about $2,500.