Politics & News

Congress Passes $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill

By Tara Stoeffler

A bipartisan bill was recently passed to spend over $1 trillion on improving the nation’s roads and bridges. It was approved by the House and is now on its way to President Biden’s office for a final signature. The Senate’s bipartisan support was dated three months prior to the House’s approval of the bill.

Biden is said to be signing off on the plan within the next couple of days, and it is projected that many upcoming infrastructure projects will be starting either before or by the springtime. President Biden described this approval as a "once-in-a-generation investment that's going to create millions of jobs modernizing our infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our broadband, a whole range of things, to turn the climate crisis into an opportunity."

The bill’s passage through the House was a culmination of months of conversations about social spending and climate change efforts between congressional Democrats and the White House. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had to delay a couple votes on the bill because of opposition from the progressive Democrats within the Democratic Party. However, this conflict was resolved Friday and Biden received a win from legislation.

The next step for the Democrats is now the clearing of a $1.75 trillion fund toward climate policies and the social safety net, which is predicted to be passed soon around the time of Thanksgiving.

The improvement of infrastructure would lead to better roads and bridges, as well as more effective public transportation. Within the bill, $110 billion was approved to be spent restoring old roadways. According to the White House, 173,000 miles of roads and 45,000 bridges in America are in poor condition. With new infrastructure projects beginning in the upcoming seasons, road-transportation issues should be gradually improving.

The investment of $40 billion for the purpose of improving bridges is the largest investment that has been made ever since the building of the interstate highway system. Transportation systems are expected to be expanded greatly with $39 billion being contributed. These new-and-improved routes and vehicles should provide better accessibility for those with disabilities and difficulty traveling. Additionally, many buses will now be zero-to-low emission buses, thus actively helping to combat the current climate issue.

There will also be improvements in the areas of passenger and freight rails, electric vehicles, electric grids, airports, and water and wastewater. Since Super-storm Sandy, Amtrak’s maintenance backlog has increased. In an effort to reduce this, this bill gives $66 billion to improve the Northeast Corridor, a railroad system that is 457 miles long. Biden wanted to contribute $80 billion. Nevertheless, this is still the biggest investment that has been made in the rail service in over 50 years. $7.5 billion will be put into the increase in electric vehicle charging stations, which the Biden administration states is crucial in the fight against climate change. To reduce the use of diesel-fueled buses, electric school buses and hybrids will be relied upon. Further, internet access should be boosted as Biden plans to improve internet services for rural areas and low-income families/communities.

After the vote for the infrastructure bill, President Biden summed up his thoughts. “Tonight, we took a monumental step forward as a nation. Generations from now, people will look back and know this is when America won the economic competition for the 21st century.”

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Steps Down Amid Sexual Misconduct Charges

Journalist brother fired by CNN after investigation reveals his own troubling behaviors

By Sophia Iannotti

On August 10, 2021, Andrew Cuomo, 63, ended his 11 years as the governor of New York with the announcement of his resignation after New York Attorney General Letitia James deteremined he viloated both state and federal law. He officially left office on August 24, 2021. The unveiling of unreported Coronavirus deaths, behavior towards other politicians, and sexual assault allegations led to the rapid decline of the reputation he had built during his time in office over the decades.

Last year, Cuomo won an International Emmy Founders Award. The award is given to someone who “crosses cultural boundaries to touch our common humanity.” During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he appeared on television daily with the newest case statistics and how New York planned to move forward. He provided people all over the country with a sense of normalcy and became a powerful leader during the lock down.

On January 28, New York Attorney General, Letitia James released a report from her office stating that nursing home deaths had been significantly under-counted. On February 17th, the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office launched an investigation of Cuomo and his team’s handling of nursing homes during the pandemic. It was found that what had been reported as 8,700 deaths was actually more than 13,000. In response to the discrepancy, Cuomo said, “More than anything it was just a capacity issue. Remember, at the same time we’re managing the pandemic; that’s what everyone was doing, and these things take time and the number one priority was saving peoples’ lives.” Melissa DeRose, Cuomo’s top aide, later admitted to withholding numbers on purpose. A member of the New York State Assembly, Ron Kim, came out and said that he had been bullied by Cuomo with a threatening phone call after accusing him of obstruction with his dealings of the nursing homes. Many other politicians have supported Kim’s claim, agreeing that Cuomo often uses bullying and intimidation tactics to get people to change their statements against him. His years of aggressive behavior towards other politicians left him with few allies during his last months as governor.

Lindsey Boylan, 36, worked in New York’s economic development agency from 2015 to 2018. She wrote an online essay explaining the harassment she faced from Cuomo. In 2017, he suggested to her that they “play strip poker” while on a flight. In 2018, she said, he “stepped in front of me and kissed me on the lips”.

Charlotte Bennett, 25, was an aide to Cuomo until November 2020, when she transferred to another job. Before that, she gave a statement to a counsel of the governor, saying that he had made remarks alluding to wanting a sexual relationship with her. He had also asked her inappropriate questions about her personal life. In a statement, Cuomo said, “I never made advances toward Ms. Bennett, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.”

Karen Hinton was a consultant for Cuomo when he was the federal housing secretary. She said in 2000, he requested her to his hotel room and gave her an unwanted “intimate embrace”. In a response to Hinton, he wrote her off as a “longtime political adversary”.

An anonymous aide to the former governor told Times Union that he had groped her in the Executive Mansion. She said she was called down to help with a technical issue and when the two were alone, Cuomo closed the door and began to inappropriately touch her. In March, Alyssa McGrath corroborated her allegations, saying that the woman had given McGrath a detailed account of the assault. She said Cuomo had also given her inappropriate looks and comments.

On August 3, Letitia James released an investigation report supporting the accusations of 11 women that he had “sexually harassed a number of current and former New York State employees by, among other things, engaging in unwelcome and non consensual touching, as well as making numerous offensive comments of a suggestive and sexual nature that created a hostile work environment for women.” Shortly after, many politicians called for Cuomo’s resignation, including President Biden.

Andrew Cuomo’s lieutenant governor since 2015, Kathy Hochul, is his successor. She was sworn into office August 24, 2021 and is the first female governor of New York. Hochul, 63, plans to serve the remainder of Cuomo’s term until January 1, 2023. At a news conference on August 11, she said, “The promise I make to all New Yorkers, right here and right now: I will fight like hell for you every single day, like I’ve always done and always will."

Breaking News: Andrew Cuomo's journalist brother, Chris Cuomo, at first faced indefinite suspension from CNN after he claimed he never reached out to sources to assist his brother but it was discovered he had. Transcripts released revealed that Chris Cuomo was involved in his brother's defense and made calls trying to identify the "wedding girl" referring to the woman who said she was groped at the event. He also communicated with various individuals to discover if there were additional accusers and to come up with strategies to assist his brother.

CNN thoroughly reviewed the documents to decipher different conversations and establish their relevance as they relate to CNN. When asked this past May about aiding his brother's defense, Chris Cuomo said, "I'm family first, job second. When my brother's situation became turbulent, being looped into calls with other friends of his and advisors that did include some of his staff - I understand why that was a problem for CNN. It will not happen again." He then refrained from covering the scandal on CNN, althought he continued to air his show "Cuomo Prime Time". He ultimately stated, "It's never easy being in this business and coming from a political family" shortly before he was relieved from his duties pending an investigation.

On 12/5/21 Chris Cuomo was fired by CNN since additional questionable behaviors came to light during the investigation regarding his breaching of journalistic ethics thus ending one of CNN's top shows. The probe revealed that a sexual harassment claim had been leveled against him which was the last straw for CNN. The anonymous accuser was motivated after "Hearing the hypocrisy of Chris Cuomo's on-air words...and disgusted by his efforts to discredit the women accusers." The new misconduct allegation comes after a veteran TV executive, Shelley Ross, wrote a column for the New York Times in September 2021 saying Chris Cuomo had groped her at a party 16 years ago, when they both worked for ABC News. Cuomo told the newspaper, "I apologized to her and I meant it." In a tweet on n 12/7/21 Chris Cuomo also announced he was leaving his Sirius XM radio show "Let's Get After it" siting the "Extraordinarily difficult time for his family" as the reason.

It may be too little too late for both Chris and Andrew Cuomo as each now faces the consequences of their actions.

Texans gather in both protest and support of modified abortion laws

Texas Implements Controversial Abortion Law

Will new law impact low income women and families who lack the funds to seek out other options?

By Vianca Pham

Earlier this year, the abortion law in Texas was initially introduced as Senate Bill 8. This bill is constructed of two key provisions: it bans abortion upon detection of fetal cardiac activity and allows almost anyone to sue abortion providers and others who “aid and abet” a person obtaining abortion care. To go into further detail, it incentivizes the public to police abortions. The law sets a $10,000 award (to be paid by the defendant) for any successful lawsuit to stop an abortion. To prepare for that, Texas Right to Life has set up what it calls a "whistleblower" website where people can submit anonymous tips about anyone they believe to be violating the law. The law is said to be one of the strictest abortion bans in the country. It makes no exceptions for rape, sexual abuse, or incest.

On May 19th of 2021, it was officially signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott and on September 1st, it ultimately took effect.

A survey conducted by the NPR found that almost 6 in 10 Americans oppose a ban on abortions after cardiac activity is detected, at about six to eight weeks into a typical pregnancy. That includes 59% of Republicans, 61% of Democrats, and 53% of independents. Overall, white college graduates are most against this provision, including 71% of white women with college degrees and 64% of white, college-educated men. On the other hand, Latinos, a group that skews Catholic, are the most supportive of this kind of law at 44%, but 46% of Latinos are also opposed.

This new law will affect thousands of women seeking abortions, but not only in Texas. If the federal courts ultimately allow this law to stand, it's very likely that other conservative states will move to pass similar laws. Seago, with Texas Right to Life, said his organization is working with activists in multiple states who are eager to replicate this model if it succeeds in blocking access to most abortions in Texas.

In 2020, Texas facilities performed about 54,000 abortions on residents. More than 45,000 of those occurred at eight weeks of pregnancy or less.

Women denied an abortion have an increased likelihood of being unemployed and having a household income almost four times the federal poverty level. They report an increased likelihood that they don’t have enough money to pay for necessities like food, housing, and transportation, and are more likely to remain in contact with a violent partner, putting themselves and their children at increased risk for harm.

Abortion providers said they have been sending patients to Oklahoma, Kansas, and New Mexico to get abortions. However, one doctor in San Antonio, Alan Braid, said he performed an abortion after six weeks in defiance of the law. “I have daughters, granddaughters, and nieces. I believe abortion is an essential part of health care,” he wrote in The Post. “I can’t just sit back and watch us return to 1972.”

In an effort to find another solution, there is renewed interest in abortion pills that can be delivered by mail. The Texas legislature is working on a bill to make it illegal to mail those pills in the state, but that bill doesn’t seem imminent. The controversy continues as larger conversations about abortion take place.

Connecticut Experiences Bus Driver Shortages

By Noelle Carmody

Over the past month the state of Connecticut has seen an immense school bus driver shortage. A bus driver for a school is responsible for safely picking up students in the morning and bringing them to school, then safely bringing them back home at the end of the school day. Often, bus drivers will pick up extra hours to drive sports teams to and from their away games. Unfortunately, since the start of the school year there has been a shortage of drivers. This is due to the mandates that were put in place for the bus drivers. All state and school district employees were required to get vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID testing. Connecticut's governor, Ned Lamont, issued this order. The reason the bus shortage spiked around the end of September is because the vaccine mandate went into full effect on Monday September 27th, 2021.

Bus drivers were and still are refusing to show up to work. They feel that it should be their personal choice of whether they want to get vaccinated or not. They also feel that a weekly COVID test is too tedious. According to the Connecticut School Transportation Association, over two hundred drivers were refusing to get the vaccine or get the weekly test. Parents and guardians are struggling to shift around their work schedule and get their children to school. The younger students are getting hit the worst because they can’t drive themselves to school.

North Haven was directly impacted by this shortage. Bus drivers were requested from the state to cover for the North Haven drivers that were missing. The high school's sports teams are being affected by this as well. The times of buses are getting changed at the last minute for the students' away games. The field hockey, boys and girls soccer team both dealt with this issue. The field hockey team had a bus change the morning of an away game and had to leave school early, missing one full academic class. The boys soccer team had a last minute push back of a game time. The girls soccer team’s game had to be entirely canceled and postponed to another day because there was no bus driver to operate the bus.

In conclusion, the bus driver shortage is an ongoing problem that needs to be solved in order to help Connecticut's students. Families and teachers are concerned and worried about education and athletics. Until some type of solution or agreement is made for vaccination mandates, the North Haven community and others will continue to suffer.

American Rapper Travis Scott (pictured right) continued performing on November 6th, 2021 despite the unruly nature of the crowd which culminated in the trampling deaths of 10 fans.

Astroworld Festival Ends in Death and Disaster

Could the pandemonium and subsequent loss of life been prevented?

By Viana Pham

Travis Scott is a 30-year-old, popular American rapper. Astroworld is a music festival hosted by Travis and held in his hometown of Houston and on the former site of Six Flags Astroworld. The 2021 Astroworld Festival was themed “Open Your Eyes To A Whole New Universe” which would “bring back the beloved spirit and nostalgia of the legendary and now-defunct amusement park… that Scott visited countless times as a child,” according to a press release on the festival from October. It was set to take place on November 5th and 6th. A portion of the proceeds was supposed to be donated to the Cactus Jack Foundation which was founded by Scott in order to “empower and enrich the lives of youth by providing access to education and creative resources to ensure long-term success.”

100,000 tickets went on sale for the 2021 festival and they sold out within a half-hour of launching. About 50,000 people attended the show according to the Houston Fire Department. Devastatingly, ten people were killed and hundreds were injured. Three hundred people were treated on-site, twenty-five people were hospitalized, and eight people were confirmed dead on November 5th. A ninth person died on the tenth of November. A nine year old victim was the tenth person to die on November 14th. The name and ages of all the people who passed include Axel Acosta Avila (21), Bharti Shahani (22), Brianna Rodriguez (16), Danish Baig (27), Ezra Blount (9), Franco Patino (21), Jake Jurinek (20), John Hilgert (21), Madison Dubiski (23), and Rudy Pena (23).

Authorities claimed that the venue met inspectors’ criteria for safe entry and exit and could have held 200,000 people under city fire codes. It is unclear if a single event triggered this chaos or if it was a combination of factors. The Houston fire chief, Sam Pena, told CNN that “The crowd for whatever reason began to push and surge towards the front of the stage, which caused the people in the front to be compressed — they were unable to escape that situation.” Many concertgoers reported that the barricades near the stage that were meant to divide different types of ticket holders kept them from escaping. It created a space that was way too small and compact for the sold-out festival. Dr. George Williams with UTHealth Houston and LBJ Hospital stated, “In a situation like that, when the lungs are squeezed like they are in a crowd situation, oxygen levels drop very quickly and because of that, the person loses consciousness and their heart is not able to function like it should.”

Other concertgoers said that the medical personnel were overwhelmed and ill-prepared. Some of the audience members even had to perform CPR because medical assistants got stuck in the crowd or were unable to come in time. Earlier in the day, a video from CNN showed that a large crowd rushed through a VIP entrance by knocking over metal detectors and gates, which could explain the overcrowding. Another popular video from the event was of a person climbing onto the platform where the cameraman was filming and screaming and begging for the show to stop. She was yelling that people were dying, but no one did anything. Other videos portrayed concertgoers dancing on and blocking the ambulance that was trying to get through the crowd.

Travis Scott had tweeted that Saturday afternoon, “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival./ Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life./ I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support./ Love You All.” Travis also posted an Instagram video that night responding to criticism that he didn’t stop the show amid the chaos. He claimed that he was not aware of the severity of the situation. He stated, “Anytime I could make out, you know, anything that’s going on, you know, I stop the show and, you know, help them get the help they need.” In addition, he gave a full refund to all Astroworld tickets.

Gabby Petito Murder Focuses Americans on Deadly Realities of Domestic Violence

"Dream road trip"culiminates in tragedy for troubled couple

By Jessica VanOss

Gabby Petito was born on March 19, 1999 and was a cheerful well-liked young woman. Her dreams of becoming an influencer on social media were just beginning to take flight before they suddenly came to a sad screeching halt. Her story inspired many after it began to unfold and she had many followers. However, what happened in her personal life while the cameras were off remains a mystery with tragic consequences that captured the attention of a nation.

Petito was engaged to Brian Laundrie whom she met while both attended a Florida high school. The couple ultimately got engaged but postponed their wedding due to the pandemic, deciding to take a trip across the country instead. They bought a small van and lived in it while they traveled across the country on what was meant to be a fun trip. Sadly, the journey was not without arguments and growing problems between the couple.

The pair left on their expedition on July 2, 2021 posting videos of their trip on Petito's YouTube platform. Her version of their experience made their life together seem like a dream come true but beneath the surface, Laundrie's darker behaviors began to surface and were ultimately witnessed by fellow travelers on the road who contacted law enforcement.

When the cameras were off, major cracks were emerging in the relationship as was evident on August 12th when bystanders alerted police of a man hitting a woman outside of a store and the woman was crying hysterically. Police responded and located the car on a Utah highway. They interviewed the two and Pettito stated that they had been fighting all morning. Their interviews were extensive and Pettito was clearly distraught while Laundrie seemed annoyed and took the situation more lightly and in denial of its serious nature. Petito spoke with a female officer and took the blame for much of what had happened saying she hit Brian first. Eventually, both said she was the primary aggressor in separate interviews but there were inconsistencies in their stories that concerned officers.

After careful consideration, and given Petito's claim she had no intention of injuring Landrie when she hit him, officers released the two based on their statements. When Landrie refused to press charges, the couple was forced to separate for the night to cool down and Petito, the primary aggressor, slept in the van while Landrie went to a hotel.

It is unclear what happened after that encounter with police and once the couple reunited, but we now know at some point things went horribly downhill. On September 1, 2021, Landrie returned home to Florida without Petito whom family and friends had not heard from over several days which was quite unusual. She and her mother video chatted nearly every day during the early parts of the trip, however, towards the end, her mother received a short text message claiming there was no phone service.

On August 27th, Petito's mother received a text saying “Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls,” referring to her Grandfather. This was the last text that her mother received and it was very out of character. Gabby had never called her grandfather Stan before so this was unusual and her mother sensed something was wrong. When Landrie returned to Florida with no word about Petito, many began to worry and ask questions about what happened on their trip and the whereabouts of Petito became an issue of grave concern.

On September 11, 2021, Petito was reported missing and on September 21, her body was identified in a state park in Wyoming and it was ultimately discovered that she had died of strangulation. Officials immediately labelled Landrie a person of interest given his suspicious behaviors, their past problems and that he was the last person to see her before her death. When Landrie could not be located his parents were also questioned but they were evasive and less than forthcoming with helpful statements. While Petito's family mourned their loss the nation was on the lookout for Landrie and police searched various locations following numerous leads.

On October 21, 2021 dental records identified remains found at the Carlton Reservation in North Harbor, Florida as those of Brian Landrie. It was later revealed that he fatally shot himself in the head. It was a sad and tragic end to a story that captured the nation and hopefully taught us all lessons about keeping away from toxic relationships that clearly put us in danger.

If you or someone you know is in a violent personal relationship please seek help from authorities or someone you trust before it is too late. Connecticut residents may contact the Office of Victim Services at 860-263-2760 or visit the OVS website for information on referral services and victim's constitutional rights at http:www.jud.ct.gov/crimevictim.