Biden Takes On Trump’s Migrant Policies and Confusion Reigns at the Border (Dan)
The author writes, “Mr. Biden campaigned on taking a more humane approach at the border and is beginning by tackling the logistical maze of processing more than 25,000 migrants forced to wait in Mexico under the program known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, or M.P.P., one of the most consequential border policies of the Trump era. Before Mr. Trump put the policy in place in early 2019, families seeking asylum were typically detained for a short period before they were released in the United States to await adjudication of their cases. For more than a year, immigration activists say, the families have been subjected to sexual assault, kidnappings and limited access to legal representation in Mexico.”
In Idaho, Republican Lawmakers Aim to Defund State’s GOP Attorney General (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “When the Texas attorney general sued to invalidate Joe Biden’s presidential victory in some states despite no evidence of widespread fraud, many said it had no chance. But among Republicans, particularly in ultra-conservative Idaho, it was a fealty test to Donald Trump, and nearly every top-level Republican in Idaho indicated their support. The exception? Attorney General Lawrence Wasden. … It was the last straw for a Republican-dominated Legislature long frustrated by Wasden. Now, lawmakers are trying to significantly defund his office by removing the attorney general as the primary defender of state agencies. If the effort succeeds, opponents say, it would essentially create a slush fund for political allies and Republican lawyers, costing the state millions of dollars in legal fees and possibly more if it loses in court.”
US Opposes ICC War Crimes Probe, Citing Support for Israel (Mili)
From Al Jazeera: “The United States ‘firmly opposes and is deeply disappointed’ by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to open a war crimes investigation in the occupied Palestinian territories, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. The investigation, which was announced on Wednesday, comes after a February ICC determination that the occupied Palestinian territories fall under its jurisdiction, paving the way for an investigation of war crimes committed by both Palestinians and Israelis.”
How Coronavirus Stimulus Funds Helped One State Create a ‘Broadband Miracle’ (Dana)
The author writes, “When Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and lawmakers in the Mississippi legislature got $1.2 billion in federal money from the first stimulus bill in March, they decided to do something different. They used a portion of the funds to supercharge the rollout of high-speed broadband to the most underserved areas of the state in an effort to close the digital divide. … The result has been an acceleration in broadband deployment that could make Mississippi one of the most connected states in the nation within the next five to six years. That’s a huge leap for the state, which last year ranked 42 out of 50 in BroadbandNow’s 2020 connectivity rankings.”
Autonomous Delivery Robots Are Now ‘Pedestrians’ in Pennsylvania (Dana)
From Car and Driver: “The legal rights of robots have expanded, at least in Pennsylvania. There, autonomous delivery drones will be allowed to maneuver on sidewalks and paths as well as roadways and will now technically be considered ‘pedestrians.’ It’s the latest change in the evolving relationship between autonomous vehicles and humans.”
