- CelebrityINSIDER
A-lister Ashton Kutcher is getting called out by fans after saying Ellen DeGeneres 'never pandered to celebrity'
DeGeneres has faced a slew of backlash from former employees, but Kutcher said he and his team were treated with respect and kindness.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Woman who sued New Jersey country club over wine spilled on $30K Hermès handbag continues legal fight
The lawyer for a woman suing Alpine Country Club in New Jersey for damage to her $30K handbag plans to pursue the case again after judge's dismissal.
- PoliticsRefinery29
This Is What Happens If The Trump Administration Is Guilty Of Violating The Hatch Act
The Hatch Act is suddenly on everyone’s radar after news broke that the Trump administration plans to use the White House South Lawn for President Donald Trump’s nationally televised nomination acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention later this month. Twitter lit up in response citing provisions in the Hatch Act that would be broken should Trump stage the high-profile campaign event on government property.But what is the Hatch Act, and why is the Trump administration being accused of violating it? Put simply, the Hatch Act says that if you work for a federal agency, you cannot use the platform of your office, which is funded by taxpayers, to advocate for your personal political beliefs. The Hatch Act became law in 1939 to protect federal workers from outside pressures to participate in a specific political activity or risk losing their job. The legislation came about after Democratic officials used federal workers in the Works Progress Administration to help them campaign in swing states. Its purpose is to separate public office from politics.The philosophy behind the Hatch Act is to prevent federal employees from engaging in political activity while on the job which may sound confusing since they, you know, work in politics; however, the lines are made pretty clear. Regulations state that federal employees are barred from “using his or her official title while participating in political activity” or “using his or her authority to coerce any person to participate in political activity.” Political activity in this instance is considered activities directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate, or partisan political group. In this particular instance, this would be referring to the success of Trump’s reelection campaign.But the question remains: What happens to the president and his administration if they engage in this kind of activity? There are some notable exceptions to the Hatch Act. Unless involving criminal activity, the president and vice president are technically exempt from these restrictions. The only instance in which the Hatch Act applies directly to the president – thanks to a 1993 amendment to the Act – is if they use their position to intimidate, threaten, or coerce a federal employee. However, this doesn’t make the talk on Twitter irrelevant. “He may not be violating the Hatch Act, but he is ordering other people to,” Richard Painter, former chief White House ethics lawyer, told the Washington Post. “At a certain point you are using White House resources, and that is a violation of the Hatch Act.”With criminal activity being the exception, Hatch Act violations don’t involve charges or possible jail time. The Office of Special Counsel, a special body set up just for the Hatch Act, investigates and determines whether a violation has occurred. It can be a career-ending error. The decision of whether to punish a person found violating the Act falls on the boss. If they decide not to do anything about it, the investigation ends there. A prime example is White House adviser Kellyanne Conway. She has violated the Hatch Act numerous times but avoids consequences despite the Office of Special Counsel advising that she be removed from her position.In the case of using the White House South Lawn, it could be considered a misuse of congressionally appropriated funds for political gain which would be criminally enforceable. While the Hatch Act violations would fall on Republican National Convention planners and Trump administration employees rather than Trump, misuse of funds could reach Trump. Former vice president Joe Biden has given mixed signals as to whether he would pursue Trump and his allies in investigations should he become president. The statute of limitations for misusing funds would not have run out in 2021, but Biden made it clear he wouldn’t involve himself in Justice Department decisions. “In terms of having the Justice Department go look at an individual or whatever, the Justice Department is not my lawyer,” Biden said in a May interview on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?Trump's Latest Interview Was Full Of False ClaimsTrump's Hypocrisy On Schools Reopening This FallWhy Trump Is REALLY Trying To Ban TikTok
- BusinessReuters
Facebook employees to work from home until July 2021 due to coronavirus outbreak; get $1,000 for home offices
Late in July, Alphabet Inc's Google said it would allow employees who do not need to be in the office to work from home until the end of June 2021, while Twitter Inc had proposed remote work indefinitely for some of its employees. "Based on guidance from health and government experts, as well as decisions drawn from our internal discussions about these matters, we are allowing employees to continue voluntarily working from home until July 2021", a Facebook spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. "In addition, we are giving employees an additional $1,000 for home office needs," it added.
- PoliticsMarketWatch
This Seattle man volunteered to be injected with an experimental COVID-19 vaccine: ‘It was kind of my duty as a healthy individual to step up’
This interview is the second in a series of conversations MarketWatch will conduct with some of the leading voices in the U.S. on the COVID-19 pandemic. Neal Browning, a 46-year-old network engineer at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) was one of the first people in the U.S. to receive a dose of Moderna Inc.'s (MRNA) experimental COVID-19 vaccine. The father of three volunteered for the Phase 1 clinical trial in February, within a month of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. and Moderna announcing plans to develop a vaccine for what was then called the novel coronavirus.
- U.S.FOX News Videos
Video Over 20 percent of Minneapolis police officers applying for permanent disability mostly related to PTSD
Upwards of 200 Minneapolis police officers have started the process to apply for permanent disability following the George Floyd riots; Mike Tobin reports.
- U.S.In The Know
Black man shares crucial lesson after getting pulled over by police: ‘I’ve never seen this happen to me’
A Black comedian is teaching a vital lesson after sharing his experience of getting pulled over by a police officer.
