News Roundup 04/08/19
1. California Highway Patrol Motorcycle Officer Killed by a DUI Driver
On Saturday afternoon, a CHP officer was killed by a drunk driver in Lake Elsinore. Patrol Sgt. Steven Licon was conducting traffic stop on the 15 Interstate, when a driver crossed over the right shoulder crashing into him. Licon, who had been with the agency for 27-years, was taken to a local hospital with severe injuries and was pronounced dead. Licon’s body was escorted to the Riverside County Coroner Office in a slow and sober procession. The driver, Michael Callahan, was arrested at the scene and booked on suspicion of murder and driving under influence. Callahan will appear in court on Apr. 10.
Source: ABC7 LA
2. California Gov. makes world stage debut in El Salvador
On Apr. 9, Gov. Gavin Newsom kicked off his four-day trip to El Salvador to learn about the poverty and violence forcing thousands to escape. His trip comes after President Donald Trump’s demoralizing rhetoric about the Central American nation . Newsom chose El Salvador because California is the home of the second largest Latino community. His trip includes meeting with President Salvador Sanchez Ceren and President elect Nayib Bukele. He will also tour a reintegration center that process deportees returning to the country and meet with human rights groups. The Trump administration have not commented, but California GOP said the governor should focused on poverty back home.
Source NBC News
3. California Federal Judge blocks Trump’s Policy forcing asylum-seeker to stay in Mexico
On Apr. 8, a Federal Judge Richard Seeborg blocked Trump’s policy that requires asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases make their way through the U.S. immigration court system. The Migrant Protection Protocols policy began in Jan. at the San Ysidro port of entry in California but has been extended from Calexico to the entry in El Paso. Several hundred migrants have been returned to Mexico after seeking asylum at the border. In the ruling, Seeborg wrote that DHS will still have the authority to detain migrants when they return to the U.S and does not prevent Congress from creating another MPP policy under federal law.
Source The Washington Post
4. Department Homeland Security Secretary leaves the Trump administration
On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that Kirstjen Nielsen will leave her post as secretary of Homeland Security. Nielsen met with Trump at the White House Sunday amid an ongoing of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. According to Fox News, Nielsen had been frustrated with the difficulty of getting other departments to help deal with the growing number of families crossing the border. Just on Friday Nielsen and Trump toured a section of California-Mexican newly border and participated in a roundtable with border officers and local law enforcement. Trump announced that Kevin McAleenan will replace Nielsen.
Source: Fox News
5. Feds charge Maryland Man of Terror Plot
On Apr. 8, the Federal authorities charged Rondell Henry, of Germantown, Maryland, who plan to ram a stolen truck into pedestrians at the National Harbor waterfront. Henry told law enforcement that he was inspired by the Islamic State when he stole a U-Haul van looking to use it as a weapon. Henry told them he wanted to create the "panic and chaos" like the attack in Nice, France, in 2016, According to authorities, Henry drove the van to Dulles International Airport but did not find as many people. He later tried to return the vehicle, but police were waiting for him. He’s scheduled to appear in federal court on Tuesday for a detention hearing.
Source: ABC News