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De Blasio: We Are Preparing NYC Schools to Resist ICE Agents
At a press conference in front of New York’s Tweed Courthouse on Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio laid out the city’s plans to resist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the Trump era.
There are “deep fears and concerns” among immigrant families after President Trump announced new ICE protocols that give agents more freedom to hold illegal immigration raids, the mayor noted.
“Parents don’t know what the policies will mean for their children,” he said.
That’s where the sanctuary city is planning to step in.
“We think it’s crucial to fight for all New Yorkers and to help immigrant New Yorkers to know their rights,” De Blasio said. “This is your city. Your city will stand by you.”
De Blasio detailed a few ways the city plans to assuage parents’ fears and resist ICE. His office, he said, will be instructing school employees to understand what to do in which ICE agents appear at a school. The agents, he said, will be kept outside the school buildings and schools will not share information with them unless required by the law.
Read the full story at Townhall.com
In the NY Times: Is America’s Military Big Enough?
Past administrations have increased military spending, but typically to fulfill a specific mission. Jimmy Carter expanded operations in the Persian Gulf. Ronald Reagan pursued an arms race with the Soviet Union, and George W. Bush waged wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr. Trump has not articulated a new mission that would require a military spending increase. This has left analysts wondering what goals he has in mind. Erin M. Simpson, a national security consultant, called Mr. Trump’s plans “a budget in search of a strategy.”
The United States has higher military spending than any other country partly because its foreign policy goals are more ambitious: defending its borders, upholding international order and promoting American interests abroad.
Read the full story at NYTimes.com
At the Wall Street Journal: GOP Plan Doesn’t Cure Health Fears for Small Businesses
Small-business owners are bracing for changes—and in some cases, higher costs—under the current Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
For small-business owners, the current version of the bill could result in higher health-care premiums for those with older workers and lower costs for those with younger employees.
Read the full story at WSJ.com
From Bloomberg: Sears Plummets After Citing ‘Substantial Doubt’ About Its Future
Sears Holdings Corp. plunged as much as 20 percent in early trading after acknowledging “substantial doubt” about its ability to keep operating, raising fresh concerns about a company that has lost more than $10 billion in recent years.
The retailer added so-called going-concern language to its latest annual report filing, suggesting that weak earnings have cast a pall on its future as a business.
“Our historical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” the Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based company said in the filing Tuesday. But the company added that its comeback plan may help alleviate the concerns, “satisfying our estimated liquidity needs 12 months from the issuance of the financial statements.”
Read the full story at Bloomberg.com
From Fox News: North Korea missile tests fail seconds after launch, US officials say
North Korean missile explodes seconds after launch
A North Korean ballistic missile test ended in failure when it exploded five seconds after launch, two US officials tell Fox News.
North Korea attempted to launch an intermediate-range Musudan missile, the first attempted launch of this type of missile since President Trump took office.
“The missile blew up five seconds after launch,” said one official, who had seen satellite imagery of the launch showing a heavily damaged mobile launcher on a runway. The test occurred at an air base near the city of Wonsan on North Korea’s east coast along the Sea of Japan.
Read the full story at FoxNews.com
An Economy Of One 