Midday open thread: Trump in court (maybe), civil rights and weather
- Today’s comic by Matt Bors is Black Endorsements Matter:
GOP frontrunner Donald Trump might have to take a break from the campaign trail to deal with a civil case alleging that Trump University committed fraud against its students. The case may require Donald Trump’s presence as a witness this spring, though a trial date has not yet been scheduled, Yahoo Politics first reported.
If the trial happens in May, it could gum up Trump’s schedule, Yahoo explained — that’s the same month that primaries are held in Nebraska, West Virginia, Oregon, Washington, and there are many important primary dates in early June.
The “university,” which first began operating in 2005 and no longer exists, was not accredited and did not have a campus. It also did not give students degrees. Instead, students went to the website and bought expensive CDs and DVDs; some of them paid as much as $35,000 for their Trump University education.
- Go get 'em:
A group of civil rights organizations are filing a historic consumer fraud complaint with the federal government on Wednesday, charging that a group purporting to change people's sexual orientation or gender identity is engaging in deceptive business practices.
The Federal Trade Commission complaint comes from the Human Rights Campaign, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Southern Poverty Law Center, and it goes after People Can Change. These so-called "conversion therapy" businesses try to make people "free from the constant pull of homosexual desires," as the PCC website says.
- Weather disasters down south:
Tornadoes ripped through an RV park in Louisiana and damaged nearly 100 homes and apartments in Florida, and forecasters warned that more twisters were possible Wednesday as the deadly storm system moved to the East Coast.
More than 88 million people were at risk of seeing severe weather from the sprawling storm. Three people were killed Tuesday and dozens were injured, some critically.
- Vindication! Maybe he’ll get back into the race:
The state’s top criminal court on Wednesday threw out the remaining criminal charge against Rick Perry, sparing the former governor from trial and a potential prison sentence on a felony charge of misusing the power of his office.
- Good news:
A bill that would require Oregon’s two largest utilities to phase out coal completely by 2030, coupled with a requirement to double the state’s renewable energy mandate, is working its way through the state Senate after being passed by the House earlier this year. If successful, environmentalists argue that it could represent some of the strongest environmental legislation in the state — and across the country — in decades.
The bill, dubbed the Clean Electricity and Coal Transition Plan, passed through the Oregon House on February 15 by a vote of 39-20, and would require both PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric (PGE) — Oregon’s two largest, investor-owned utilities — to stop using coal in their energy mix by 2030. It would also require those utilities to provide at least 50 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2040. Currently, the state’s energy mandate requires utilities to provide 25 percent renewable energy by 2025.
- On today’s Kagro in the Morning show, Greg Dworkin reminds us that authoritarianism’s the common thread between Trump & right-wing evangelicals. Hillary’s health care offensive. Joan McCarter rounds up the SCOTUS saga. TN loosens its gun laws & goes GunFAIL crazy.