Women Finally Believed, Cosby Guilty

Bill Cosby was found guilty on Thursday of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a Temple University employee he mentored, 14 years ago.
• More than 50 women have accused him of sexual misconduct. Some of them briefly cheered in the courtroom when the verdict was announced. Ms. Constand hugged prosecutors and her lawyers before leaving the courtroom through a side door, smiling.
• The verdict was widely celebrated as a win for sexual assault victims. Gloria Allred, the lawyer for dozens of Mr. Cosby’s accusers, said outside the courtroom, “After all is said and done, women were finally believed.”
• Mr. Cosby’s lawyer, Thomas A. Mesereau Jr., said outside the courthouse: “We are very disappointed by the verdict. We don’t think Mr. Cosby’s guilty of anything, and the fight is not over.”

Mr. Cosby’s accusers:

“Obviously I’m thrilled,” said Kristina Ruehli, who in 2014 accused Mr. Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1965. “Full credit to the accuser and their networks and the media who had the willingness to listen to us. We were heard.”
Patricia Steuer, 61, has accused Mr. Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1978, when she was 22, and then in 1980. She said she felt vindicated by the verdict.
“I can finally lay down my shield and sword for a while,” she said. “I’m a little weary and feel battered, but right now I’m thrilled.”
The jury convicted Mr. Cosby of aggravated indecent assault against Ms. Constand, at the time a Temple University employee he had mentored. But during the trial, Ms. Constand became something of a proxy for the many other women who have accused Mr. Cosby of similar sexual misconduct. His first trial ended in a hung jury last June.
Lili Bernard, who said she was drugged and raped while guest starring on “The Cosby Show” in the early ’90s, was ebullient: “I feel like my faith in humanity is restored.”
She said the verdict was “a victory for all sexual assault survivors, female and male. It’s a victory for womanhood.”
Donna Motsinger, who said Mr. Cosby drugged and assaulted her in 1972, said the verdict felt less a victory for her personally than for Ms. Constand, who has become a close friend.
“It took one woman, one courageous, tenacious woman, to bring a criminal to justice,” Ms. Motsinger said. “Sometimes the justice system doesn’t work. But it worked because of her.”
She continued: “It’s not really about me. I didn’t process it for me. I’m still processing that it can still happen. One person can make a difference.”
Bounce TV, an Atlanta-based network programmed primarily for African-American audiences and one of the few networks that still showed reruns of “The Cosby Show,” said on Thursday it would immediately pull the show from its schedule.
It was the second time Bounce TV agreed to take Mr. Cosby off the air. In July 2015, the network stopped airing reruns after he admitted to drugging women, but started running them again in December 2016.
A spokesman for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, where Mr. Cosby is featured in a gallery called “Taking the Stage,” declined to comment on whether it would make any changes in light of the verdict. Before the museum’s opening in September 2016, several women who accused Mr. Cosby of sexual assault complained that the museum did not plan to mention their accusations, which the museum later added.
On Twitter, the National Organization for Women said that “justice was served today.”
“This is a notice to sexual predators everywhere,” the organization said.
Rose McGowan, an actress who has accused Harvey Weinstein of assaulting her and who has been a vocal advocate in the #MeToo movement, celebrated the result on Twitter.
Lisa Bloom, a lawyer who represented one of Mr. Cosby’s accusers, said on Twitter it was “justice delayed, but justice delivered.” Courtesy of NY Times

The $43,000 soundproof booth

Scott Pruitt addressed concerns about a $43,000 soundproof booth that his office purchased and was found to violate federal spending law by a Government Accountability Office report.

Pressed by Rep. Tony Cardenas, a California Democrat, about the booth, Pruitt said the idea originated after he received a phone call of a sensitive nature and "did not have access to secure communications."
He said he ordered his staff to address the situation. "And out of that came a $43,000 expenditure that I did not approve," he said.
Cardenas, following up, asked Pruitt if he was blaming his staff for the episode.
"Career individuals at the agency took that process through and signed off on it all the way through," Pruitt said. "I was not involved in the approval of the $43,000, and if I had known about it, Congressman, I would have refused it."
Republican Rep. Ryan Costello also questioned Pruitt about the privacy booth, as well as Pruitt's unprecedented 24-hour security detail during family vacations. Pruitt, in response, read two threats that were listed in a document that he says was from the inspector general, including one in which a person threatened to "put a bullet in between your eyes."
Pruitt argued it was because of those threats that his travel office started upgrading him to first class travel last year. But Pruitt repeatedly said he has "made changes" so that he's not flying first class anymore.
While the first hearing was in a large room with dozens of members taking turns for questions, the second hearing took place around a long table in a small room, with Pruitt surrounded by about a dozen members on a House appropriations subcommittee.
Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum, the top Democrat on the subcommittee, launched some of the most pointed questions at Pruitt while sitting directly across from him at the table.  "Mr. Pruitt, I think it's time that you resign," she said. Courtesy of CNN Politics

Mike Pompeo approved as 2^nd Secretary of State

The Senate narrowly confirmed CIA Director Mike Pompeo on Thursday as President Trump's next secretary of State.
After the 57-42 vote, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Pompeo will play an important role in negotiations between the United States and North Korea.
"In fact, he’s already played a role as director of the CIA," Cornyn said, referring to a trip Pompeo made to North Korea to meet with leader Kim Jong Un in late March.
It was one of the slimmest margins for the job in recent history. Pompeo is expected to be sworn into office immediately and then depart within hours of the vote for Europe on his first trip as secretary of state. The CIA’s deputy director Gina Haspel assumed the role of acting director of the agency.
Trump applauded the Senate’s confirmation of Pompeo, saying, “Having a patriot of Mike’s immense talent, energy, and intellect leading the Department of State will be an incredible asset for our country at this critical time in history.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he worries that Pompeo "will hamper American diplomacy" and that he espouses views on reproductive and LGBTQ rights that demonstrate values outside the U.S. mainstream.
Though Blumenthal praised the opening Pompeo made with North Korea as director of the CIA, "the success of those negotiations will depend on diplomacy, not spies, and he has no experience in diplomacy."
He urged Pompeo to rely on State Department diplomats "with the experience and expertise to be successful around the world."
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., cited statements by Pompeo calling for military strikes on Iran as a solution to its disputed nuclear program, calling out American Muslim leaders as tacit supporters of terrorism and calling for U.S. withdrawal from international agreements on Iran's nuclear deal and climate change.
"It’s incumbent on our next secretary of State to work with our allies in Europe, with all of our allies," Cardin said. Pompeo "suggests we should pull out of the agreement if we can’t change it, even though Iran is in compliance with that agreement. That’s not diplomacy."
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted Monday along party lines to recommend Pompeo for secretary of State. All the Democrats on the committee opposed Pompeo's nomination, primarily because of his hawkish views.
Pompeo, a West Point graduate, and former Army captain, was elected three times to the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas. He's led the CIA since Trump came to office in January 2017.
During his confirmation hearing, Pompeo said he would rebuild the ranks of the State Department, which has seen departures among senior staff, including the ouster of Pompeo's predecessor, Rex Tillerson. Trump fired Tillerson in March after months of disagreements.
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., urged his colleagues to vote in favor of Pompeo, who he said is “uniquely qualified.”
“We need Mike Pompeo, and we need him now,” Roberts said. “He will be forthright, he will be independent, and yes, he will be diplomatic.”
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted that there will be a NATO ministerial meeting Friday in Brussels. “Us passing him out today will allow Pompeo to participate in this important mission,” Corker said.
“I didn’t know him well before this nomination," he said. “Through the process of going through the confirmation hearing, I think he’s going to be exemplary.”  Courtesy of USAToday

The Baby’s Name is Prince…

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have named their third child Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Cambridge, Kensington Palace announced Friday.
The baby will be known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis Arthur Charles.
The couple said they named their son after William's grandfather, Prince Charles, and the Duke's mentor-- Louis Mountbatten-- who was killed by a bomb in 1979.
The Royal family and the Middleton family have reportedly been informed of the baby’s sex, weight and timing of birth. Plans are reportedly underway for ceremonial celebrations that accompany Royal births, the paper reported.
The three names are popular choices recycled by the royal family. Prince Charles is Charles Philip Arthur George, while Prince William is William Arthur Philip Louis. Prince George’s full name is George Alexander Louis.
Bookmakers had Arthur as the favorite for some time, then Alexander.
It has taken four days for the new prince’s name to be released. He is fifth in line to the throne and was born on Monday weighing 3.8kg (8lbs 7oz).
Both Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s names were released two days after their births. But Prince William’s name was not made public for seven days.
Historically royal names are not usually announced for several days. Prince Harry was a recent exception. It was confirmed on the day he left the hospital that he would be called Henry, though would be known as Harry. Prince Charles’s name was revealed one month after he was born, only being declared ahead of his christening in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace in December 1948.
The Queen is told, as a courtesy, before the name is announced. Courtesy of The Guardian