By Gabriella Agliata '19 Amazon had contrived a plan to build an expansive corporate campus in Queens, New York. However, these preparations were put to a stop due to backlash from lawmakers, progressive activists, and union leaders. They argued that such a wealthy cooperation didn’t deserve nearly 3 billion dollars in government incentives. As a result of this, the state of New York sprung into a heated debate of whether or not subsidies are being given out.
The company then pulled out of this construction, delivering a huge blow to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, and damaging their effort to further diversify the city’s economy by making it an inviting location for the technology industry. In fact, Amazon made a statement saying, “A number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward.” DeBlasio tried to reach out to Amazon’s chief executive, but the official refused to speak to him. Many of the company’s supporters in the business showed strong support for the second headquarters, but it wasn’t enough to keep the plan intact. The governor blamed the newly emboldened Democrats who now control the State Senate for derailing the project. He was significantly disappointed and said that the protestors put personal interest above the community’s well-being. Amazon stated that despite the overwhelming issues that engulfed this project, they still have an undying loyalty towards New York City.
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By Emanuela Gallo ‘19 Source: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Michael Dean Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer, has represented Donald Trump for a decade. However, his loyalty has shifted away from the man he now describes as a racist, conman, and cheat. On Wednesday, February 27th, he spoke about Trump in a sworn testimony to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. During the daylong hearing, he accused him of following a pattern of lies, criminal activity, and deception.
Republicans worked to discredit Cohen, accusing him of lying just as he lied under oath to Congress before (to which he pleaded guilty). Across the aisle, Democrats sought to extract more and more details of Trump's world behind closed doors. Cohen revealed several bits of information during the five-hour period. He described working for Trump as “intoxicating” due to his tendency to heed his ambition rather than his conscience. “Sitting here today, it seems unbelievable that I was so mesmerized by Donald Trump that I was willing to do things for him that I knew were absolutely wrong,” Cohen said. The now-disbarred lawyer made other accusations, including that Trump lied to the press concerning Hillary Clinton’s emails. Cohen claimed he was in Trump’s office during a conversation between him and advisor Roger J. Stone Jr. on speakerphone. Stone allegedly stated that he had just talked to the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, who said that “within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign.” In an interview with the New York Times in January, Trump affirmed that he never spoke with Stone about WikiLeaks or the emails it posted. The information Cohen revealed painted the president as a man of doubtful character. He stated that over the decade he worked for Trump, he was asked to threaten individuals an estimated 500 times. He referred to the idea of “catch and kill,” which is a method of preventing an unfavorable article from being published. Cohen also presented letters the president asked him to write to his high school, colleges, and the College Board. These letters threatened these entities not to reveal his academic records, grades or testing scores. In addition, Cohen disclosed a few racist comments stated by Trump insulting African-Americans. His testimony also included a confession of hush payments made to Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have an affair with Trump. He presented copies of checks Trump gave him displaying $130,000 in reimbursements. “My loyalty to Mr. Trump has cost me everything,” Cohen said. “I will not sit back, say nothing and allow him to do the same to the country. By Jenine Samara ‘22 This year’s State of the Union Address left much of the country with a question mark over their heads. At the onset, the lack of assurance in the President’s speech was certainly evident. Certain elements that remain fixated in President Trump’s ideas were strongly conflicted during his address. Contrary to his tweets, Donald Trump proselytized a lot about bipartisanship and his desire to stride for a country whose limits exceed those of a specific political agenda.
However, his tweets and declarations tell a different story. The President’s tirades of scapegoating the Democratic Party for various political, social, and economic problems are far from the political unity he spoke of during his address. Another notable aspect of the State of the Union Address was the frequent discussion of the economy. Although there were several components to his speech, it felt as if every issue, regardless of the sector, was returned to a discussion of economics. In addition, Mr. Trump ceased to regard the critical issue of climate change once. Trump’s attention to the economy has always been significant, but has it reached a point where his fixation on the economy has “trumped” other important issues? On a lighter, more inspirational note, The State of the Union was an event that provided a great sense of female unity. Women in Congress coordinated with one another and wore white as an homage to the suffragettes. During the era in which women fought for suffrage, women wore white dresses in order to establish a universal identity and press coverage for themselves. Kudos to the congresswomen who used this event to channel the empowering and inspiring message of the women who paved the pathway for our liberties. By Jenine Samara '22 The Midterm Election of 2018 brought us into some uncharted territory. It was a night of many notable firsts.
An especially monumental event took place in Staten Island and Bay Ridge, where candidate Max Rose (D) shifted the 11th Congressional Seat to the Democratic Party. Since the 11th Congressional District is primarily comprised of Staten Island, it tends to lean Republican. However, Max Rose (D) brought a “blue wave” to the district, which kept both Staten Island and Bay Ridge as the topic of political conversation throughout election night. This local shift was indicative of a bigger change that happened later that night. Although the Senate majority remained Republican, the House flipped in favor of the Democrats. This will have striking effects on the way that Washington operates and we can only wait to see what the next two years have in store. In addition to the astonishing partisan shifts, women also created a wave of their own, emerging victoriously with a number of firsts. We have witnessed the first Muslim congresswoman, the youngest congresswoman in US history, the first Palestinian congresswoman, the first Latinx congresswoman, the first female senator of Tennessee, and the first Native American congresswoman. This bodes well for us as young women. The glass ceiling that has hovered above women throughout time is slowly yet surely being shattered by ambitious women such as these. All in all, it was an evening of shifts, swerves, surprises and most importantly, strides toward change. |