NEWS OF THE DAY
No new headquarters: The government is scrapping a decade-long plan to shutter the FBI’s deteriorating downtown Washington headquarters and look for a new building in Maryland or Virginia, the General Services Administration announced Tuesday. The agency said does not have enough money to move forward with the plans. The Obama administration had sought $1.4 billion for the project, but Congress left it underfunded by about $882 million. The hulking J. Edgar Hoover Building overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue has long been the government building everyone loves to hate. The FBI has complained that the concrete building is obsolete, inefficient and no longer meets the needs of an organization that has grown dramatically in the last 40 years.
Twitter lawsuit: First Amendment advocates are suing President Trump, saying some of his critics have been unconstitutionally blocked from following him on Twitter. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. The lawsuit says Twitter has become an important public forum for the president and he frequently makes public announcements on his @realdonaldtrump account. The lawsuit asked a judge to stop Trump and his media team from blocking critics from following his personal account.
Officer’s funeral: A New York City police officer was remembered Tuesday for her dedication to her family and public service before she was gunned down while guarding a troubled street corner in the Bronx. Thousands of officers from departments across the country attended the service at World Changers Church for Miosotis Familia, 48, who was ambushed and killed by an unstable ex-convict last week.
Female genital mutilation: Doctors and parents involved in female genital mutilation will face up to 15 years in prison under new Michigan laws. Female circumcision or cutting is already a federal crime punishable by five years in prison. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation on Tuesday that creates a state crime with harsher penalties. The legislation was proposed after six people from an India-based Muslim sect were charged in a genital mutilation case involving six girls at a suburban Detroit clinic. Two of the girls are from Minnesota, and four are from Michigan.
Online harassment: A new survey says a whopping 41 percent of U.S. adults have experienced online harassment, ranging from offensive name-calling to stalking and sexual harassment. That’s up from 35 percent in 2014. The Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C., says that 66 percent of respondents have witnessed other people being harassed. While some people’s experiences could be “shrugged off ” as a nuisance, some 18 percent said they were subjected to “severe” forms of harassment. This included physical threats, stalking and harassment over a sustained period.
Chronicle News Services