Atlanta school eliminates morning Pledge of Allegiance recitation

Students at the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School will no longer say the Pledge of Allegiance to start their school day. School officials say students will continue to be asked to stand to participate in the school's Wolf Pack Chant each morning. Students will also be given the opportunity to say the pledge at another point during the school day within their classroom. 

The decision was made “in an effort to begin our day as a fully inclusive and connected community,” according to the press release sent out by Lara Zelski, the Campus Principle. The release went on to say “Over the past couple of years it has become increasingly obvious that more and more of our community were choosing to not stand and/or recite the pledge. There are many emotions around this and we want everyone in our school family to start their day in a positive manner.” 

Prior to the change, students at Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School would normally recite the Pledge of Allegiance during their ‘morning meeting’ which contained all students, staff and faculty. According to the press release, over the next few months, teachers and the K-5 leadership team will be working with students to create a school pledge that we can say together at morning meeting. This pledge will focus on students’ civic responsibility to their school family, community, country and our global society.

TV networks boost security for reporters at Trump rallies

TV networks are boosting security for reporters at President Trump's campaign-style rallies in light of his escalating rhetoric against the press, according to Politico. Networks are employing security guards, according to reporters, at Trump’s high-octane political rallies, where the media often serves as the #1 rhetorical punching bag. 

Several reporters who cover Trump rallies told POLITICO that although they have not felt fearful at recent events, there is a sense that violence could easily break out -- an atmosphere not dissimilar to Trump’s events during his campaign. Reporters described an increasing number of informal discussions about how they would handle a dangerous situation. Some reporters have said there’s more awareness now of details like where the exits are located and whether choosing a certain seat in the press area might put you in a better or worse position if the crowd gets unruly. 

Networks deployed security at Trump events as far back as the 2016 campaign. But in the wake of the shooting in the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland, and with the president ramping up both his rally schedule and his rhetoric against the media -- Trump has tweeted that reporters are the “enemy of the people” five times in the past month, while he’d used the line just twice on Twitter before that -- news outlets now find themselves increasingly facing the question of whether they’re doing enough to keep journalists safe.

Anti-Trump Books

Bob Woodward’s book, “Fear: Trump in the White House,” is being released on Sept. 11 by Simon & Schuster. According to half a dozen former administration officials and people close to the administration, Woodward was never officially granted access to the White House or to the president, and the communications department did nothing to help him in researching or writing his book. 

According to Simon & Schuster, the book will reveal “the harrowing life inside Donald Trump’s White House and how the president makes decisions on major foreign and domestic policies.” 

Trump allies said they are bracing themselves for a book that will enrage the president and that he will therefore promote, intentionally or not. Trump’s tweets, in the past, have helped to boost book sales. 

Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not respond to a request for comment about the Woodward book.

Omarosa Manigault’s book, "Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House," will be released on Tuesday, August 14. 

The Daily Beast said that she secretly taped conversations with President Donald Trump on her smartphone. According to people who listened to Omarosa's recordings, who are not named in the report, most of what she has on tape is described in The Daily Beast as "anodyne, everyday chatter," though Trump's voice is reportedly audible at times.  

Omarosa’s publisher, Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, said in a statement to USA TODAY: “Without commenting on the specific contents of "Unhinged," we are confident that Omarosa Manigault Newman can substantiate her highly-anticipated account of life inside the Trump White House." 

In January, The White House imposed a ban on personal cell phones in the West Wing in January 2018, citing security concerns. 

“The security and integrity of the technology systems at the White House is a top priority for the Trump administration and therefore the use of all personal devices for both guests and staff will no longer be allowed in the West Wing. Staff will be able to conduct business on their government-issued devices and continue working hard on behalf of the American people,” Sanders said in a statement on the new policy. 

It was unclear why the administration chose that moment to impose the ban, but the Daily News reported Omarosa’s penchant for recording conversations played a role.

Conversations with the President are subject to the laws of the state they take place in.

According to the Daily Beast report, the conversations took place in the White House. Washington, D.C. law is a “one-party consent” jurisdiction when it comes to recording conversations. That means that at least one person participating in a conversation must consent to the recording for it to be legal. Since Omarosa recorded her own conversations, that would be enough to put her in the clear. New York is also a one-party consent state.

However, there remains a great deal of mystery surrounding these conversations, and if any of them took place in other locations, there could be a problem, depending on where they were. 

Florida, for example, is a “two-party consent” state, meaning everyone involved in a conversation must be aware of and give permission for any recording that takes place. If Omarosa and the president were at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club when she recorded them, that could be problematic for her.

Florida law generally considers first offenses to be misdemeanors, although recordings made for commercial gain (which could be the case here, given her book) can result in felony charges punishable by up to five years in jail. There are exceptions to the two-party consent rule. Recordings that take place in public settings may be permitted because there wouldn’t necessarily be a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Feds charge Illegal who raped Child after release from Sanctuary City

The Department of Justice is prosecuting a previously deported illegal alien from Honduras for illegal re-entry while he is in prison for raping a small child after release by the city of Philadelphia. 

Illegal immigrant Juan Ramon Vasquez is an illegal immigrant from Honduras. In May 2009, Juan Vasquez was deported from the United States. In March 2014, Juan Vasquez was found back in the United States by U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. At that time, Juan Vasquez was in the custody of the Philadelphia Department of Prisons facing domestic aggravated assault charges. The City of Philadelphia chose not to comply with a detainer lodged by ICE for Juan Vasquez, who was instead released from custody by the Philadelphia Department of Prisons.  

After his release, Juan Vasquez was rearrested and convicted for rape of a child and unlawful sexual contact with a minor. He is currently serving a sentence of 8 to 20 years in state prison for the rape charge. U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Juan Ramon Vasquez pleaded guilty today to illegal reentry after deportation. Juan Vasquez faces a maximum possible sentence of two years in federal prison. 

The Start of Football Season: All Eyes on The National Anthem?

The NFL football preseason began last Thursday night with the Baltimore Ravens beating the Chicago Bears (17-16). There are 12 more games scheduled for Thursday night. 

NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown said Tuesday night he would never kneel during the national anthem, siding with President Trump on an issue that has stoked controversy among players, owners and the president's supporters. 

Brown, who supported Trump in the 2016 election, said at an event prior to the premiere of the new season of HBO's "Hard Knocks" that he believes players have the right to express themselves, but he doesn't agree with doing it during "The Star-Spangled Banner." 

"I'll never kneel and I will always respect the flag," Brown said, according to USA Today. 

Dating back to at least the 2016 football season, several NFL players took a knee each week during the national anthem before games to protest social injustice. The number of players who took part in the protests grew during the 2017 season, particularly after Trump suggested those who demonstrated during the anthem should be fired. In July the NFL and the NFL Players Association issued a statement effectively putting the NFL rules on protesting during the anthem on hold. As of now there is no NFL rule governing anthem protests

Mail Time!

• Bill, sending the national guard to Chicago, encouraging people to take back their communities, better schools, etc... are great ways to treat the symptoms of Chicago gang violence. But to truly treat the underlying problem and eradicate the gangs you need to start with the family: over 70% out-of-wedlock birth is destroying the family and will continue to perpetuate the cycle. The traditional family is the foundation/stepping my stone for all success in life. 

• Dear Mr. O, as a resident of the grater Chicagoland area, I wanted to thank you for your reporting on the violence in Chicago. The mainstream media seems to ignore this problem. You have mentioned on your show, that LeBron James, should hold a press conference in Chicago to highlight the war zone conditions. I agree with you. Michael Jordan still has great influence in the city of Chicago. It would be great to see these two team together to create awareness. After all, this is the city that turned Jordan into a global sensation. 

• What is your best guess and we know you are good at this! about when the Mueller Report will wrap up? This is getting so tiresome.

Word of the Day: Popinjay