Official inquiry of Impeachment
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelozi announced a formal inquiry of impeachment toward President Donald Trump. The inquiry is charging Trump in a breach of his constitutional responsibilities, specifically the betrayal of the integrity of elections. The inquiry is on the basis that Trump asked foreign Ukrainain President Volodymyr Zelensky for assistance against former Vice President Joe Biden in the upcoming 2020 election. President Trump admits to having a conversation in July and speaking of Biden. However, he denies the conversation included any type of quid pro quo for assistance from a foreign nation. According to The New York Times, “The president said on Tuesday that he would authorize the release of a transcript of the conversation, part of an effort to pre-empt Democrats’ impeachment push. But Democrats, after months of holding back, were unbowed, demanding the full whistle-blower complaint and other documentation about White House dealings with Ukraine…” As of now there is no official timeline of the process in place. However, Pelosi states that the process will be done “swiftly.”
General Motors strike
General Motors United Auto Workers are still on strike after a full week of protest. General Motors owns subsidiaries such as GMC, Cadillac and Chevrolet among other brands. Majority of General Motors factories in the United States make vital parts for vehicles assembled in other countries. Due to the strikes inside the U.S., assembly factories around the world were forced to shut down, particularly in Mexico and Canada. Unionized workers are fighting for better wages within the company, and according to the Associated Press, “The union wants a bigger share of GM’s more than $30 billion in profits during the past five years. But the company sees a global auto sales decline ahead and wants to bring its labor costs in line with U.S. plants owned by foreign automakers.” Last Monday, the workers received their last paycheck and are now receiving $250 per week strike pay. No agreement has been reached and General Motors continues to operate using temporary non-unionized workers.
Former Dallas cop trial begins
On Sept. 6, 2018, a former Dallas Police Officer, Amber Guyger, entered the wrong home and proceeded to shoot 26-year-old Botham Shem Jean, alleging to mistake Jean as a home intruder. Jury selection started earlier this month, one year after the incident happened. The case went on trial last Monday. Guyger pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder. The case is influential in the police brutality movements, and according to NPR, “Civil Rights Attorney Benjamin Crump, one of the lawyers for the Jean family, has referred to the shooting as an example of the constant threat of a deadly violence that African Americans experience daily. ‘The family has no doubt in their mind that she shot Botham because she saw a black man and she thought, ‘criminal.’”
