The U.S. at a glance ... NEWS 7
Gretna, La.
AOC threatened: Two police officers
were fired this week after one officer sug-
gested on Facebook that Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) should be shot.
Charles Rispoli, a 14-year veteran of the
department in Gretna—a city of about
18,000 outside New Orleans—was
responding to an article about Ocasio-
Cortez, the high-profile Dem o cratic
firebrand and onetime bartender. “This
vile idiot needs a round,” Rispoli wrote,
adding, “and I don’t mean the kind she
used to serve.” Another officer, Angelo
Varisco, “liked” the post and was also
fired. Police Chief Arthur Lawson called
their conduct “an embarrassment to our
department.” Ocasio-Cortez blamed
Pres i dent Trump, tweeting, “He’s creat-
ing an environment where people can get
hurt & he claims plausible deniability.”
Capitol police have investigated 2,500-
plus threats against members of Congress
this year, on pace to set a record.New York City
‘Unhinged’ and fearful: The man who
mailed bombs to 13 prominent critics of
President Trump last October is a Trump
“super fan” who was radicalized by Fox
News, his attorneys said this week. Cesar
Sayoc, 57, regarded Trump as his “per-
sonal champion” and believed Democrats
were “seriously dangerous to his personal
safety.” The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., resi-
dent pleaded guilty in March to targeting
former President Barack Obama, Hillary
Clinton, and other politicians, journalists,
and celebrities. Defense attorneys said
steroids and social media made Sayoc
“unhinged” and paranoid: “A rational
observer may have brushed off Trump’s
tweets as hyperbole,” they said, but Sayoc
“took them to heart.” While working at
a strip club and delivering pizzas, Sayoc
“religiously” watched Fox, intensifying
his fears about violent Democrats. Broke
and living out of a van, the attorneys said,
“Sayoc found light in Donald J. Trump.”Washington, D.C.
Ceiling fix: Congressional
leaders reached a compro-
mise this week that will raise
federal spending limits
and increase the debt
ceiling, averting a
showdown over
ballooning deficits
and postponing
the prospect of more government shut-
downs until after the 2020 election. The
agreement, which still must pass Con-
gress, would increase spending caps by
about $50 billion this year and $54 bil-
lion more the next year, with just under
half of that going to defense. Trea sury
Sec re tary Steven Mnuchin said it was
crucial to suspend the debt ceiling, allow-
ing the government to borrow money to
pay obligations like Social Security and
veterans benefits. Pres i dent Trump touted
the deal, having persuaded Dem o crats to
leave out “poison pill” amend-
ments such as restrictions on using
defense funds for a border wall.
Num er ous Repub li cans say the
deal abandons goals to rein in
spending. After hearing from
Mnuchin, Sen. John Ken-
nedy (R-La.) said his message
amounted to “Yippee yippee
yay, I made a deal.”Washington, D.C.
Hunger game: The
Department of
Agriculture pro-
posed a rule this
week that would
eliminate food stamp
benefits for 3.1 mil-
lion Americans. The
change would bar 43
states from continu-
ing to automatically
enroll families for
federal food benefits when they apply
for welfare assistance from another pro-
gram, which advocates say eliminates
paperwork and helps poor people accu-
mulate savings. The White House calls
automatic enrollment a loophole that lets
people bypass eligibility rules such as lim-
its on assets and says the change would
save $9.4 billion over five years. There’s
little evidence that people receiving food
stamps have substantial assets:
Typically, a family of three must
earn less than about $27,000 a
year to qualify for an average
of $1.39 per meal per person.
The proposal would limit auto-
matic enrollment to families that
receive at least $50 in other benefits
for six months.Raleigh, N.C.
‘Bathroom bill’ truce: A federal judge
approved a settlement this week affirm-
ing the right of transgender people to use
public-building
restrooms that
match their
gender identity.
The consent
decree ends
a three-year
battle that put
North Carolina
at the center of
the debate over anti-trans discrimination,
after Republicans passed a bill requiring
transgender people in public universities,
schools, and other state-run buildings to
use restrooms matching the gender on
their birth certificate. The state bowed
to threats of corporate boycotts and
repealed that bill in 2017, though the
replacement law banned new local anti-
discrimination ordinances until 2020.
As part of the latest settlement, trans
plaintiffs agreed to drop other pending
legal action. Access to one’s preferred
restroom “is about nothing less than the
ability to enter public spaces as an equal
member of society,” said Tara Borelli, an
attorney for the plaintiffs.San Juan, Puerto Rico
Protesters prevail: Puerto Rico Gov.
Ricardo
Rosselló
appeared
headed for
resignation
or impeach-
ment, suc-
cumbing to
11 days of
massive pro-
tests demanding his departure. An esti-
mated 500,000 people filled the streets
earlier this week, shutting down a major
highway before converging outside the
governor’s mansion. The demonstrations
began after leaked conversations showed
the governor and his inner circle using
homophobic and misogynistic slurs and
mocking victims of Hurricane Maria.
Days earlier, the FBI had arrested two of
Rosselló’s former top aides for corrup-
tion. As protests swelled, swinging from
euphoric to violent and leading police to
use tear gas at least three times, Rosselló
pledged to finish his term through 2020.
Pressed on Fox News to name a single
supporter, Rosselló named the mayor of
San Sebastian, who later said he did notAP^ support the governor.
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Mnuchin strikes a deal.Aid recipientNo more debateSan Juan takes to the streets.