[Premium Times] Mr Jega alleged that some legislators attempted to influence budget allocations and secure contracts, undermining public officials' efforts to maintain integrity.

mexico city — Legislators from Mexico's ruling party reelected the head of the National Human Rights Commission on Wednesday despite widespread opposition and her failure to call out the government for abuses.  The reelection of Rosario Piedra Ibarra in a party-line Senate vote appeared to be another example of the ruling Morena party's attempts to weaken independent oversight bodies. Morena has proposed eliminating a host of other oversight, transparency and freedom-of-information agencies, claiming they cost too much to run.  Mexico's civic and nonprofit rights groups have been almost unanimous in their criticism of Piedra's reelection.  "This is an undeserved prize for a career marked by inaction, the loss of independence and the weakening of the institution," the Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez human rights center wrote on social media.  Piedra is a committed supporter of former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who left office on September 30. She once affirmed that none of the deaths caused by the armed forces under his administration were illegal or unjustified, and she shared the former president's delight in attacking and criticizing other independent human rights groups.  Commission issues few recommendations Since her first election in 2019, Piedra has done little to investigate allegations of massacres or extrajudicial killings by soldiers and members of the militarized National Guard, to whom Lopez Obrador gave sweeping powers.  Despite receiving over 1,800 citizen complaints against the armed forces between 2020 and 2023, her commission issued only 39 recommendations, and most of the few military cases her commission did follow up on involved abuses committed under previous administrations.  The rights commission has the power to make non-binding recommendations to government agencies. If they do not agree to follow the recommendations, they are at least required by law to explain why.  Piedra has almost exclusively focused the commission's work on issuing recommendations in cases where people have not received proper health care at government-run hospitals. Those recommendations accomplish little, because they don't address the underlying problem of underfunded, poorly equipped hospitals forced to handle too many patients.  At times Piedra acted as if human rights violations no longer existed under Lopez Obrador. In 2019, she expressed disbelief when asked about the killing of journalists, despite the fact that almost a dozen were killed in Lopez Obrador's first year in office.  "Are they killing journalists?" she said with an expression of disbelief.  'Her actions appear to support impunity ' Piedra comes from a well-known activist family: Her mother founded one of Mexico's first groups to demand answers for families whose relatives had been abducted and disappeared by the government in the 1960s and '70s. But even her mother's group, the Eureka Committee, did not support Piedra's reelection.  "Her actions appear to support impunity for the perpetrators of governmental terrorism, and the government's line of obedience and forgetting" rights abuses, the committee wrote in a statement.  Piedra broke with two important traditions: she was a member of the ruling party up until she was elected to her first term in 2019. The job has usually gone to nonpartisan human rights experts.  And she has openly endorsed and supported government policies and actions. Previous heads of the commission had a more critical relationship with the government.  Piedra also failed to make the final cut for candidates for the post this year in a congressional examination of their qualifications, but was put on the ballot anyway.  That's important because similar evaluation committees will decide who gets on the ballot in judicial reforms that make federal judges stand for election next year. Activists worry that the same kind of favoritism will come into play in the election of judges.  "This decision comes after a selection process in which she (Piedra) wasn't found to be the most qualified," a coalition of rights groups said in a statement. "That reveals the political, partisan considerations that put her onto the ballot."  She also apparently falsified a letter of recommendation; a bishop and human rights activist said a letter she presented to support her reelection had not been signed by him.  Piedra will serve under new President Claudia Sheinbaum, another devoted follower of Lopez Obrador, who took office October 1. On Sheinbaum's first day in office, the army killed six migrants near the Guatemalan border; 10 days later, soldiers and National Guard killed three bystanders in the northern border city of Nuevo Laredo while chasing suspects.  Sheinbaum's third week in office was capped by the killing of a crusading Catholic priest who had been threatened by gangs, and a lopsided encounter in northern Sinaloa state in which soldiers killed 19 drug cartel suspects, but suffered not a scratch themselves. That awakened memories of past human rights abuses, like a 2014 incident in which soldiers killed about a dozen cartel suspects after they had surrendered.  The purportedly leftist government has been quick to criticize human rights groups and activists who expose abuses.  In June, an outspoken volunteer advocate for missing people found an apparent body dumping ground with human remains in Mexico City, embarrassing ruling party officials who had done little to look for such clandestine grave sites. City prosecutors lashed out at her, claiming "the chain of custody" of the evidence had been manipulated, which could lead to charges. 

A similar hearing last year brought extraordinary moments, including a retired intelligence officer alleging that the U.S. government has recovered nonhuman "biologics" from crash sites.

Trump intends to nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general and former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, surprising many lawmakers who will have to confirm them.

Four Indian-Americans, including two women, elected to House of Representatives and the Senate in the historic US general elections are here for their first official Congressional orientation meeting to find out how they can work collectively.

There is no excuse for non-disclosure agreements about public spending

IOC presidential candidate Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. has urged European lawmakers to regard investing in sport as a public health policy in his first keynote speech of a six-month Olympic leadership campaign.

Washington — Five Senate Democrats are imploring the Mine Safety and Health Administration to lower its exposure limit for crystalline silica – a carcinogen found in sand, stone and artificial stone.

Washington — A group of Democratic lawmakers is pressing OSHA for the “fastest possible implementation” of a standard on protecting workers from extreme heat exposure.

Arlington, VA — Top-ranking Democrats in the House Education and the Workforce Committee and the Workforce Protections Subcommittee are questioning the legality of a Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission decision to remove a Sophia, WV, mine from Mine Safety and Health Administration Pattern of Violations status.

Washington – Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress are proposing legislation that would prohibit children younger than 18 from working directly with tobacco plants or dried tobacco leaves.

Washington – OSHA will delay enforcing a new interpretation of its Process Safety Management Standard, prompting a bipartisan group of lawmakers to call for the agency to withdraw that interpretation.

Washington — Legislation introduced in both chambers of Congress is aimed at enhancing the safety of the air supply on commercial aircraft to protect crew and passengers.

Washington — A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging the Federal Aviation Administration to make the aviation industry safer by taking “decisive actions to reduce the stigma around mental health care.”

Washington — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning of “an emerging public health threat” after researchers identified an increase in cases of silicosis – an incurable lung disease – among workers who handle engineered stone used to make household countertops.

Redondo Beach, CA — Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization President Linda Reinstein is asking lawmakers to make a federal ban of asbestos – a known carcinogen – “a priority” during Congress’ current lame-duck session.

Washington — A group of 19 congressional Democrats is urging, “in the strongest possible terms,” the Department of Transportation to deny a recent American Trucking Associations petition on California’s meal and rest break rules for commercial truck drivers.

Washington — Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) have reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would require the secretary of transportation to create a working group to determine obstacles to safe operation for livestock, insect and agricultural haulers in an effort to reform federal hours-of-service and electronic logging device regulations.

Washington — Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) is among four lawmakers calling for Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta to address their concerns over OSHA’s responses to a Government Accountability Office report, issued in November, on the health and safety of meat and poultry industry workers.

Washington — Legislation reintroduced March 11 by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS) would prohibit line speed increases in meat and poultry-processing plants during the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — Bipartisan legislation recently introduced in the House would extend OSHA protections to public sector employees.

Washington — A pair of House Democrats are requesting a Department of Labor investigation into potential risks of child labor and occupational safety and health violations in youth workforce programs.

Washington — Claiming the Environmental Protection Agency is “rushing forward” with various regulations while much of the nation is focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA), Jerry McNerney (D-CA) and Mike Quigley (D-IL) recently sent a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, calling on the agency to extend all comment periods for matters related to public and environmental health at least 45 days past the end of the declared national emergency.

Washington — OSHA will prioritize rulemaking for a standard on preventing workplace violence in health care and social settings, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh testified during a May 17 House subcommittee hearing.

Washington — Physical assaults on health care workers in hospitals could lead to federal penalties and up to 20 years of jail time, under new bipartisan legislation.

Washington — A bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers have introduced a joint Congressional Review Act resolution to repeal the National Labor Relations Board’s recently revised joint employer rule.

Washington — New bipartisan legislation is intended to better protect workers and visitors in federal buildings.

Providence, RI — Rhode Island lawmakers have reintroduced legislation intended to protect workers from psychological abuse – such as bullying – on the job.

Washington — A pair of House Democrats have introduced legislation that would “prohibit, or require disclosure of, the surveillance, monitoring and collection of certain worker data by employers.”

Springfield, IL — Legislation intended to protect workers from retaliatory conduct by employers, as well as strengthen current protections under Illinois state law, is awaiting approval from Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D).

Grain Valley, MO — The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and 12 other organizations have sent a letter to lawmakers urging them to oppose two House bills that would allow drivers younger than 21 to operate interstate commercial motor vehicles.

Washington — The National Employment Law Project and the Economic Analysis and Research Network recently released a policy brief intended to advise incoming governors and state legislators on best practices “to protect workers in their states so that all communities can thrive and grow.”

Washington — A pair of House Democrats are calling on acting Labor Secretary Julie Su to address recent allegations that officials from two State Plan agencies are giving employers advance notice of workplace safety inspections.

Washington — Bipartisan legislation recently introduced in the House is aimed at bolstering the safety of the nation’s rail network via modernization and investment in grant and pilot programs.

Washington — A Mine Safety and Health Administration proposed rule intended to reduce worker exposure to respirable crystalline silica “does not demand enough from operators,” Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Alma Adams (D-NC) claim.

Washington — Democratic lawmakers have renewed their push to ease access to health care and other benefits for coal miners who have black lung disease.

Washington — Easing access to health care and other benefits for coal miners who have black lung disease can help remedy a “devastating” development in the mining community, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) says.

Lawmakers ponder their next steps on the budget

Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have reached a preliminary, bipartisan agreement on police reform after months of closely watched debate on the topic.

Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., announced the agreement on Thursday evening.

"After months of working in good faith, we have reached an agreement on a framework addressing the major issues for bipartisan police reform," the lawmakers said in a joint statement.

"There is still more work to be done on the final bill, and nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. Over the next few weeks we look forward to continuing our work toward getting a finalized proposal across the finish line."

The exact details of the plan were not immediately clear.

The issue of reforming qualified immunity, to make it easier to sue police officers over allegations of brutality, had been a sticking point in negotiations. The police use of chokeholds was another debated provision.

The effort to reform U.S. policing comes after several years of increasing pressure to better understand and regulate the way officers interact with the communities they patrol.

The high-profile deaths of several Black people — many unarmed — at the hands of police — who have in some notable instances been white — have been the catalyst for the police reform movement.

The Democratic-led House had approved the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act — named after one of those Black people killed by police — in early March, and President Biden had hoped Congress would pass the reform effort by the first anniversary of Floyd's death in late May.

But Bass had said then that getting "a substantive piece of legislation" is "far more important than a specific date."

Floyd's murderer, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, is set to be sentenced to prison on Friday.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Thursday that Biden "is grateful to Rep. Bass, Sen. Booker, and Sen. Scott for all of their hard work on police reform, and he looks forward to collaborating with them on the path ahead."

The topic of police reform has divided the nation across party lines, with progressives accusing the right of seeking to maintain an antiquated and all-too-powerful law enforcement apparatus. Conservatives say the left has blamed the actions of some officers on the institution itself, turning the topic of police support and "blue lives" into more ammunition for the ongoing culture war.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

More than 9.6 million children — or 13 percent of all children in the U.S. — live in families with annual incomes below the poverty line, according to data from 2015. As closures and restrictions related to COVID-19 begin to impact the U.S. economy, it’s clear many more families will be receiving fewer paychecks and less income in the coming months, putting more children at risk of falling below the poverty line.

The draft AI rules have to be agreed by the European Parliament and European Union member states. They have so far been discussed three times in trilogues, which are meetings between parliament and EU states to thrash out the final versions of laws.

At least 40 states have introduced bills this year to regulate AI, and a half dozen have adopted resolutions or enacted legislation aimed at the technology, according to The National Conference of State Legislatures.

California lawmakers closed out the 2024 legislative session by passing a bill that would allow electronic signatures on all work comp documents, and a bill requiring that doctors who do utilization review on claims…

The Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission announced that state lawmakers have approved the updated 2024 Medical Fee Schedule. The state House of Representatives voted 94-1 to pass House Joint Resolution 1035 in…

Louisiana lawmakers passed a bill that would establish notice requirements for carriers to seek additional premium payments from employers that misclassified their workers and limit how much insurers can recover. Rep.

The Senate and House’s top defense appropriators are both facing tough election day matchups that could help determine the majority in either chamber and potentially reshape key “cardinal” spots atop […]

The AHRI’s 2024 Policy Symposium brought more than 200 members, along with AHRI staffers and others in HVAC, to Washington for the lobbying effort, plus panel discussions, keynote speeches, and networking.

The 4th and final part of our series on human trafficking explains what lawmakers and the PCC have been doing to help solve the problem. https://fb.watch/7X9-8f1Bdi/

Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed Monday that the Florida Legislature will soon reassert control over Disney World’s Reedy Creek

Lawmakers will take up an amendment requiring the Florida Department of Transportation to inspect Disney World's monorails.