By Donald H. Harrison
NATIONAL/ INTERNATIONAL –Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the opinion for a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning excessive seizure of property by law enforcement agencies following an arrest. According to a New York Times story, she said excessive seizures violate the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing equal protection of the laws. “Exorbitant tolls undermine constitutional liberties,” she said. “Excessive fines can be used, for example, to retaliate against or chill the speech of political enemies.” … Amid reports that President Trump is considering firing Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff of California praised Coats. The Washington Post quoted Schiff as saying about Coats, “He speaks truth to power and gives policy makers the best intelligence possible. He is loyal to the country and that is as it should be.” …
INVESTIGATIONS — President Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, will testify before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 27. Cohen is scheduled to begin serving a three-year prison term in May for lying to Congress and arranging payoffs to keep women quiet about their sexual affairs with Trump. Cohen tweeted that he was “looking forward to the American people hearing my story in my voice,” The Washington Post reported. … The New York Times reported that President Trump at one point asked former Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker if U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman of the southern district of New York could be assigned to lead the investigation into his Trump’s alleged payoff of two women who said they had extramarital affairs with him. However, Berman already had recused himself. Trump called the report “fake news.”… House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York said Whitaker may be called back to the committee to explain inconsistencies in his previous testimony. … The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling for a congressional investigation into how widely the government circulates its terrorist watch list, said to include hundreds of thousands of names. According to the Associated Press Justice Department attorney Dena Roth said last September in U.S. District Court that the Terrorist Screening Center “does not work with private partners” and that “watchlist status itself is considered law enforcement sensitive information and is not shared with the public.”
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN – Bernie Sanders raised $6 million in contributions in the first day after he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination, The Washington Post reported. That compares to $1.5 million in the first day for Senator Kamala Harris of California and $1 million for Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota in her first two days. … Kamala Harris says she is “excited to welcome” Sanders to the presidential race. “I very much look forward to the coming months when each candidate will share their ideas for the future of our country and make their case directly to the American people,” she said in a news release.
ISRAEL MATTERS – The late Rabbi Meir Kahane’s followers in Israel have formed a new party called Otzma Yehudit (“Jewish Power”), drawing condemnation from the American Jewish Committee, which called the party “extremist.” The statement added, “The views of Otzma Yehudit are reprehensible. They do not reflect the core values that are the very foundation of the State of Israel.” Another condemnation—which laid blame on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the emergence of Otzma Yehudit as a potential participant in the Knesset was issued by Americans for Peace Now, J Street, Ameinu, the National Council of Jewish Women, New Israel Fund, Partners for Progressive Israel, Reconstructing Judaism, and T’ruah: The Rabinic Call for Human Rights …. Members of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (COP) were told by Ben Gurion University President Daniel Chamovitz says a tech hub being built in Beersheva and he university create a “marvelous and perfect storm for helping the Negev.”x… Israeli model Esti Ginzburg will host and singer Dudu Aharon will perform Feb. 28 at a United Hatzalah gala in Los Angeles honoring American comedian Jay Leno.
ANTI-SEMITISM – The New York Times reported that Coast Guard Lt. Paul Hasson, a 49-year-old white supremacist, has been arrested on gun and drug charges and has been described as a “domestic terrorist” who planned to kill numerous politicians he considered to be traitors, among whom U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer of New York and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the latter of whom he described on his seized computer as “Sen. blumen jew.”
SAN DIEGO — Josh Shapiro, assistant dean of research affairs at UC San Diego Extension, says the San Diego Workforce Partnership will be able to attract more students from under-represented backgrounds to high tech courses under a $1.2 million grant from Strada Education Network. The grant enabled a program to be developed in which students pay back loans by paying a small percentage of their earnings after graduation. “By shifting financial risk away from students, this innovative partnership will provide equal opportunity and access to world-class education, while optimizing the university’s interest in student outcomes,” Shapiro said. “This initiative embodies Extension’s mission to be a catalyst for inclusive economic, intellectual and cultural growth.”
ELSEWHERE IN CALIFORNIA – Democratic State Assemblyman Richard Bloom of Santa Monica has proposed that California impose a fee per fluid ounce on sugary beverage to offset the cost of health care for patients with diabetes and other sugar-related problems. His proposal is part of a series of proposed laws offered by Democrats to curb soda drinking. Another by Assemblyman David Chiu of san Francisco would ban sales of sugar-sweetened sodas over 16 ounces.
SCIENCE/ MEDICINE — Doctors Yehuda Limony and Michael Friger of Ben-Gurion University report that short children will enter puberty later than tall children because the body seeks to match the height of the parents. “When a tall child seems to be exceeding a parent’s height, he may begin puberty earlier than his fellow peers to slow his growth and ensure that his final adult height is in the target range. The opposite is also true: short children don’t reach puberty until later than the societal average because their bodies are giving them extra time to grow in order to reach a parent’s height.”
BUSINESS — Investor Carl Icahn has acquired 10 percent of Caesars Entertainment and now wants the casino operator to give him a seat on the board and to be given a say in who should replace CEO Mark Frissora, according to an Associated Press report.
ENTERTAINERS – Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is counter-suing a skier with whom there was a collision at the Deer Valley Ski Resort. Optometrist Terry Sanderson said it was her fault; she said it was his. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that he is asking for $3.1 million in damages; she wants only $1 plus lawyer’s fees. … David Geffen, co-founder with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg of DreamWorks SKG, is 76 today.
OBITUARIES/ MEMORIALS –Television consumer reporter David Horowitz, host of the syndicated Fight Back! Program had died a age 81, the Associated Press reported. .. Sydney B. Wexler, 86, an attorney who served as president of Congregation Anshe Emet in Chicago before moving to San Diego, where he was active in the community, has died, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. A memorial service is planned Sunday, Feb. 24, at 3 p.m. at Congregation Beth Israel…. Born on this day: In 1867, Otto Hermann Kahn, the financier who chaired the Metropolitan Opera of New York and is believed to be the model for the iconic figure in Monopoly games; in 1922, classical violinist Zvi Zeitlin, who at 11 was the youngest student admitted to Juilliard. … On this day in 1911 composer Gustav Mahler conducted the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall., the Associated Press recalled.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com