Nation and world news in brief for Thursday, May 2, 2024 – West Hawaii Today

NYPD cops hoist US flag at City College after school worker tosses away Palestinian flag

NEW YORK (New York Daily News) — Cops including two high-ranking NYPD officials proudly hoisted an American flag — and a school worker pulled down and tossed away a Palestinian flag — after evicting protesters encamped at City College, video posted by the department shows.

Kaz Daughtry, the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner for Operations, posted the video early Wednesday.

In the video, a man jumps up and rips down the Palestinian flag then hands it to a school worker who tosses it to the ground. Daughtry and Tarik Sheppard, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for public information, then participate in hooking an American flag to the pole in its place.

The moment appears to have been captured by an NYPD photographer as credentialed media were blocked from accessing the encampment. At the end of the video, Daughtry and Sheppard smile and pose for the camera next to the flag pole.

Marjorie Taylor Greene to call for vote on Speaker Johnson’s ouster next week

WASHINGTON (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she is ready to call for a vote to remove Mike Johnson as House speaker, even if it ultimately fails with Democrats’ help.

Greene, at times angry and cursing during a Wednesday morning news conference on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, said Johnson is a weak leader who has allowed the Democratic Party’s agenda to prevail. And she said all members of the U.S. House should be forced to cast votes publicly on whether he should continue as leader.

“I think every member of Congress needs to take that vote and let the chips fall where they may,” said Greene, a Rome Republican. “And so, next week I am going to be calling this motion to vacate.”

For more than a month, Greene’s motion to vacate resolution has hung over Johnson’s head. She filed the paperwork on March 22, but she did not immediately call for a vote, reserving the right to do so at any time.

Navy in court over Pearl Harbor water contamination

WASHINGTON (CQ-Roll Call) — Not since the dark day at Pearl Harbor that drew America into World War II has there been so much trouble in paradise, as the U.S. naval base on the Hawaiian island of Oahu is sometimes described.

A gusher of jet fuel that leaked into the base’s drinking water in November 2021 led to a lawsuit that forced the Navy to admit it was negligent in maintaining the gigantic fuel tanks built into a mountain at the start of the war, in a depot known as the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.

Now the case, with more than 2,500 plaintiffs so far and about 5,000 more expected to join, is before a federal judge in a trial that started this week in Honolulu to determine the extent of the damages to those exposed to the contaminated water.

The plaintiffs — mostly civilians along with a few hundred military personnel — say the effects were calamitous, with illnesses ranging from nausea and skin rashes to cysts and polyps, as well as serious health problems in their children.

As tensions grow, more Americans see China as an enemy

(Los Angeles Times) — Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s power abroad and want to combat that influence, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center.

Some 42% of respondents indicated that they consider China an enemy of the United States — up from 34% in 2021 when the Washington-based research organization began asking the question.

The study, published Wednesday, also found 71% of Americans believe China’s global influence has been growing in recent years. Nearly half of respondents said limiting China’s power should be a top priority for U.S. foreign policy, along with protecting the U.S. from terrorist attacks and curbing the flow of illegal drugs into the country.

The rising suspicion comes as the two countries clash on a growing number of issues and the major candidates in the U.S. presidential election vow to stand tough on China.