The George Zimmerman trial came to a close with the prosecution invoking Martin Luther King in its pitch to the jury, and a union that initially backed the passage of Obamacare did an about face.
On the international stage, NSA leaker Edward Snowden decided to apply for asylum in Russia.
Here’s a recap, or wrap, of the week that was from The Washington Times.
• Ruthless Mexican drug cartel recruiting in U.S.; Los Zetas looks to prisons, street gangs
A Mexican drug cartel known for kidnapping random civilians and beheading its rivals has expanded its operations into the U.S.
The gang known as Los Zetas is recruiting U.S. prison and street gangs, and non-Mexicans, for its drug trafficking and support operations in Mexico and the U.S.
• Samuel Adams beer defends removing ‘Creator’ from quote: It’s just policy
Boston Beer Company, the owner of the Samuel Adams brand, defended its removal of “Creator” from a recent ad that quoted the Declaration of Independence this way: It’s just company policy.
The ad included an actor quoting from the founding document: “All men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
That differs from the actual Declaration of Independence statement, that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
• New York school drops Michelle Obama lunch standards: Kids too hungry
New York’s Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake school district has become the latest casualty in first lady Michelle Obama’s preferred lunch plan, dropping the menu after too many students complained of hunger.
“[Food service manager Nicky] Boehm and her staff worked hard to implement the new regulations, but there were just too many problems and too many foods that students did not like and would not purchase,” said Assistant Superintendent Chris Abdoo about the National School Lunch Program in a statement reported by EAGNews.org. “Students complained of being hungry with these lunches and the district lost money.”
• Numbers don’t add up on Obama’s pledge to deport more illegal immigrants
The Obama administration is deporting fewer people than it did in 2011 or 2012, but has ousted more than 110,000 illegal immigrants this year who didn’t have criminal records, according to statistics that call into question the Obama administration’s public statements about its deportation policies.
Continued deportation of rank-and-file illegal immigrants is fueling outrage by advocacy groups that want the Obama administration to halt most deportations while Congress hashes out an immigration bill.
“DHS consistently misleads the public about who it is deporting,” said Jessica Karp, staff attorney at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “The Obama administration has created a ‘criminal immigrant’ boogeyman to justify unprecedented deportation levels. But when we look at the facts, again and again we see that the majority of those deported have no or only very minor misdemeanor convictions, including traffic offenses.”
• Hundreds call to adopt Down syndrome baby, save it from abortion
When the Rev. Thomas Vander Woude learned about a young couple planning to abort their unborn baby that had been diagnosed with Down syndrome, the priest reached out and offered a deal: Deliver the child and he would help find an appropriate adoptive family.
But he had to act fast.
The woman, who has not been identified for her privacy and her protection, was just shy of six months pregnant and lives in a state that prohibits abortions past 24 weeks — which meant he had a short time to find a family willing to make a lifelong commitment.
• Harry Reid prepares Senate to go ‘nuclear,’ end nomination filibusters
Senate Democrats laid the groundwork Thursday to trigger the “nuclear option” against minority filibusters, setting up a dramatic Tuesday showdown in which Republicans either will have to accept seven of President Obama’s controversial appointments or watch as Democrats change the rules and end filibusters of executive branch nominees.
• Zimmerman prosecutor invokes Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech
Zimmerman prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda invoked Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech in his closing arguments, arguing that star witness Rachel Jeantel should be taken seriously, regardless of her “unsophisticated” testimony, National Review Online first reported.
“I had a dream … that today, a witness would be judged not on the color of her personality, but the content of her testimony,” Mr. Rionda told the jury.
• Edward Snowden seeks asylum in Russia
National Security Agency leaker Edward J. Snowden said Friday he’s seeking asylum in Russia during a news conference with human rights activists at the Moscow airport.
Snowden said he’s been trapped in legal limbo since the revocation of his U.S. passport and that has no choice but to apply for asylum in Russia.
• Democrat Corrine Brown: Bible tells us to provide food stamps
Democrats angrily denounced a Republican-led effort to strip food stamp funding from the farm bill and vote on SNAP spending separately, with one even suggesting that biblical principles demand lawmakers provide the benefit. SNAP stands for the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
• Electrical workers union jumps aboard anti-Obamacare bus
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is the latest in a string of unions to come out against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
The group’s launched new ads with several media organizations, including Roll Call and The Hill, expressing dissatisfaction with the health reform and pointing to discrepancies between what President Obama promised — and what he actually delivered.
One ad cites the president’s July 2009 remarks: “If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what.”
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