Court: Vermont pair stopped near border can't be prosecuted
The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that a Vermont couple cannot be prosecuted in state court for drug violations with evidence seized by a U.S. Border Patrol agent. The court, in a 3-2 decision, said the federal law used by the Border Patrol agent to search the Vermont car after it was stopped during a roving patrol just south of the Canadian border in August 2018 did not comply with the state constitutional guarantee against unreasonable searches. “Evidence obtained in violation of the Vermont Constitution may not be admitted at trial in a state prosecution because such evidence ‘eviscerates our most sacred rights, impinges on individual privacy, perverts our judicial process, distorts any notion of fairness, and encourages official misconduct,'" said the majority decision, written by Justice William Cohen, who was citing an earlier case.
news.yahoo.comEx-Defense secretary: Trump's Cabinet should invoke 25th Amendment to remove him from office
Former Defense Secretary William Cohen told CNBC on Wednesday that President Donald Trump's Cabinet should invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office after pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol. The 25th Amendment outlines how a president can be removed by the vice president and Cabinet members if deemed unable to carry out the duties of the office. He said Trump's video posted to Twitter in which the president told rioters to "go home now" was too little, too late. They're angry because he's told them to be angry," Cohen said. President, step up,' I wanted to conclude it by saying, step up or step down," Cohen said.
cnbc.comExtraordinary warning to Trump by 10 former Pentagon chiefs
Following the Nov. 3 election and subsequent recounts in some states, as well as unsuccessful court challenges, the outcome is clear, they wrote, while not specifying Trump in the article. The former Pentagon chiefs warned against use of the military in any effort to change the outcome. “Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory,” they wrote. Biden has complained of efforts by Trump-appointed Pentagon officials to obstruct the transition. In reversing himself, Miller cited “recent threats issued by Iranian leaders against President Trump and other U.S. government officials.” He did not elaborate, and the Pentagon did not respond to questions.
Extraordinary warning to Trump by 10 former Pentagon chiefs
Following the Nov. 3 election and subsequent recounts in some states, as well as unsuccessful court challenges, the outcome is clear, they wrote, while not specifying Trump in the article. The former Pentagon chiefs warned against use of the military in any effort to change the outcome. “Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory,” they wrote. Biden has complained of efforts by Trump-appointed Pentagon officials to obstruct the transition. In reversing himself, Miller cited “recent threats issued by Iranian leaders against President Trump and other U.S. government officials.” He did not elaborate, and the Pentagon did not respond to questions.
Scores of retired military leaders publicly denounce Trump
WASHINGTON Scores of retired military and defense leaders are denouncing President Donald Trump and accusing him of using the U.S. Armed Forces to undermine the rights of Americans protesting police brutality and the killing of George Floyd. The condemnation Friday came in an op-ed in The Washington Post, signed by 89 former defense officials, and in a letter in support of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, signed by 55 retired military leaders. The president also threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 to deploy federal troops to quell the protests. In the letter released by the Biden campaign, leaders including retired Gen. Merrill McPeak, an Air Force chief of staff in the 1990s, call on Trump to stop tarnishing the military by deploying its forces against peaceful protesters. Those of us who have served believe the greatness of our military -- and the greatness of our nation -- depends upon the calls for change in the streets today becoming votes for change in November, the 55 military leaders wrote.
Speech advocate Annie Glenn, astronaut's wife, dies at 100
FILE - In this Dec. 8, 1983 file photo, Annie Glenn speaks during an interview in Newport, N.H. Glenn, the widow of astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn and a communication disorders advocate, died Tuesday, May 19, 2020, of COVID-19 complications at a nursing home near St. Paul, Minn., at age 100. During WW II, the Korean war and two flights into outer space, Annie patiently waited for her John to come home, Butland said. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Annie Glenn Award was created to honor people who overcome a communication disorder. The university bestows an Annie Glenn Leadership Award annually. The Glenns served on the board of the college, now Muskingum University, and Annie Glenn was named a distinguished alumni fellow in speech communications.
Leadership vacuum in national defense positions is making Congress queasy
When he resigned as defense secretary last December, Jim Mattis thought it might take two months to install a successor. Seven months later, the U.S. still has no confirmed defense chief even with the nation facing potential armed conflict with Iran. There is also no confirmed deputy defense secretary, and other significant senior civilian and military Pentagon positions are in limbo, more than at any recent time. AdvertisementWilliam Cohen, a former Republican senator who served as defense secretary during President Clintons second term, says U.S. allies and even our foes expect more stability than this within the U.S. defense establishment. He is required to step aside pending Senate confirmation, and Navy Secretary Richard Spencer will assume the role of acting defense secretary until Esper is approved.
latimes.com