NEWS EXTRA

This segment provides the viewer / reader with news they might have missed and focuses on key issues related to current and past events. These articles are provided courtesy of our many contributing sources. We ask that you enjoy these stories and continue your support of beenetworknews.com, our contributing sources and publishers.

SOURCE:  Office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

Obamacare Repeal Means Relief for Kentucky

‘For the people of Kentucky, and for people all across this country, repeal means relief. The time to act is now.’

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) photographed at the Capitol on December 2, 2008. Photograph by Karen Ballard

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made the following remarks on the Senate floor today regarding the repeal of Obamacare and highlighting the impact on Kentucky:

“Families across the country have been hurt by Obamacare’s rising costs and limited choices, and we continue to hear the stories from constituents back home. My own home state of Kentucky was once championed as a success story by Obamacare’s supporters. That’s hardly the case today.

“Too many Kentuckians are watching their insurance premiums grow higher and higher. They’re struggling to meet deductibles so high that their insurance is almost useless. They’re watching their friends and neighbors lose their plans or access to family doctors. And as they sit around the kitchen table and try to budget for their families’ future, they know one thing: the promises of Obamacare have failed them.

“Obamacare promised lower costs, but premiums have skyrocketed. It promised families could keep their plans or doctors, but many have seen their options limited. Kentuckians want to see lower costs, more choices, and better care. But after seven long years of rising costs and diminishing options, Obamacare hasn’t delivered — and the people of Kentucky are demanding change.

“They’ve been loud and clear in their distaste for Obamacare. Like other members here, I’ve received letters, emails, and phone calls, and I’ve met with constituents directly who are feeling the pain of higher costs and fewer choices.

“Consider this mom in Kentucky. She’s facing the higher costs of health insurance, and she doesn’t know what to do. ‘My family is being pushed out of the middle class by the Obamacare law,’ she said. ‘How can we pay almost $1,200 a month on health insurance?’

“Listen to this veteran and father from Louisville. After his plan was discontinued, he tried to buy insurance through Obamacare, only to find that his children’s pediatrician wouldn’t accept it. This dad worries that unless something is done, he will be ‘one of thousands of Kentuckians that will find that they do not have insurance options.’

“I have heard from many constituents expressing similar frustration, disappointment, and anger about the outcomes of Obamacare. They expected the law to deliver on its promises, but instead, they paid more and received less.

“This year, the cost of insurance premiums in Kentucky spiked up to 47 percent. These price increases are a direct result of the instability injected into the market by Obamacare. And families across Kentucky are scrambling to find ways to fit the extra expenses into their budgets.

“To make matters worse, the choices that families once had for health insurance continue to disappear. Nearly half of the counties in Kentucky only have one option for a health insurance provider on the exchange. And when there’s only one choice, there’s not really a choice at all.

“For the people of Kentucky, and for people all across this country, repeal means relief. The time to act is now.

“However, our friends on the other side of the aisle are doing everything they can to stop us from fulfilling our promise to help the American people.

“Instead of continuing to push their political agenda, I urge them to help us. I ask them to listen to the American people who demand change. A recent Gallup poll showed that 8 out of 10 Americans wanted to see Obamacare significantly changed or replaced.

“It’s time to admit it. Obamacare has failed. This partisan experiment is hurting more than it is helping. It’s time to finally move past it and replace it with something that works.

“This repeal resolution is the first step to bring relief for hard-working Americans and to prevent health insurance markets from imploding. Next, we need to work together to replace Obamacare with health care policies that actually work for families.

“Once we repeal Obamacare, we can use the stable transition period to deliver on another promise. I encourage colleagues on both sides to offer their input as we work to lower costs, increase choices, and promote better care. But one thing is certain. Republicans will continue to follow through on our promises and act on behalf of our constituents to bring relief from Obamacare.”

SOURCE: BLACKNEWS.COM

24-YEAR OLD BLACK MAN KILLED WHILE RUNNING AWAY FROM NYPD POLICE OFFICER — DEATH WITHOUT DUE PROCESS PROMPTS FAMILY TO FILE LAWSUIT

Queens, NY — On Sunday, September 18, 2016, 24 year-old Kadeem Trotter was fatally shot. Immediately, multiple conflicting reports surfaced on local television news and across the internet, claims of a shooting involving an off-duty cop and an armed man in a thwarted robbery attempt outside a Dunkin Donuts in Jamaica, Queens. Kadeems family wasnt officially notified until days after published reports were already permeating the Internet and newswire.

(left) Kadeem Trotter when he was just 5 years old; (right) Kadeem Trotter at 24-years old just before he was killed while running away from a police officer. Photo Courtesy: Blacknews.com

From the very beginning, Kadeems family had been misinformed by the authorities. Two detectives showed up at my house. I was told my son had walked himself into the hospital with chest pains and he just didnt make it, says Kadeems mother, Lundie Chambers. It was only because my neighbor had brought me a newspaper and I recognized his bicycle [in the article photo] that I was able to make the connection.

The inconsistencies continued from there, claims that Kadeem was armed with a BB gun, on that evening outside Dunkin Donuts, and was shot in the chest while allegedly, attempting to rob Ian Caine of his holstered handgun. 49 year-old Ian Caine, the shooter, was moonlighting as a uniformed security guard for Allied Security. Caine was not wearing his official court officers uniform at the time of the shooting. Reports immediately released to news media, however, categorically identify Caine as a Staten Island Court Officer, implying protections afforded to uniformed peace officers effecting an arrest.

The prematurely released reports also taint public perception of Kadeem and paint him as guilty without having stood trial. These reports also seal public perception of Caine as a would-be-hero, when Caine was neither wearing his official court officers uniform, nor working in his capacity of Court Officer at the time of the shooting. There are no corroborating witnesses, only the highly publicized account of a lone shooter without evidence to substantiate his claims. The only video mentioned has been footage of Kadeem merely entering and exiting the Dunkin Donuts restaurant. Though failing to prove Caines account of the events, this footage is referenced by police as Kadeem casing the place. No other video surveillance video is mentioned.

A day after the shooting, however, more details surface that contradict Ian Caines account of the incident. The Daily News initially reported that Caine opened fire in front of Dunkin Donuts. The September 19, 2016 Daily News article included a photo of the Queens Dunkin Donuts location. Later reports include photos, clearly depicting Kadeem Trotters bike at the site where his body was found by police, in front of the MTA depot. This site is across a boulevard with a divider, roughly 200 yards away from the Dunkin Donuts restaurant location. There are multiple, at least three, surveillance cameras mounted atop the building’s structure. Article photos also clearly depict two shell casings marked by a tree, diagonal to an SUV with at least one bullet hole in it. The Queens Medical Examiner also ruled Kadeems death a homicide, but was restricted from issuing an official report by the Queens DA. This prompted the Trotter family to obtain the Queens Hospital Emergency Room Report which revealed, Kadeem was inflicted with three entry wounds, two in the back, one in the buttocks.

McKinneys Public Officers Law §87: Access to Agency Records Kadeems Grieving Family has a right to a Medical Examiners Report

While what little evidence the Trotter family has received contradicts Ian Caines account of the events, the Trotter family has been denied access to pertinent reports and other items they would otherwise be entitled to. These items include an actual physical copy of the Medical Examiners report, the official police report, and surveillance footage from cameras at the MTA depot (where Kadeems body was actually found). The police department has not produced evidence of the aforementioned BB gun and also claims to have lost the voucher permitting the family to retrieve Kadeems belongings. Furthermore, the familys multiple requests for the copy of the Medical Examiners report have been ignored. The more formal Freedom of Information Law Request (FOIL) has also been submitted to the Queens County District Attorneys Office to no avail.

If the man is not in uniform effecting an arrest, then he is not a peace officer. And the Medical Examiner ruled Kadeems death as a homicide, says K. Trotter, a representative from the family. Kadeem is not here to tell us his side of the story. Whats to separate these events from other bias attacks? The DAs office is withholding the MTA surveillance footage and the medical examiners report, crucial evidence, and The DA has yet to respond to our FOIL Request. For the last three months, weve heard absolutely nothing from the DAs office. He has not offered any condolences. He did not advise us about seeking counseling for such a horrific ordeal, did not respect our rights as a grieving family. Instead, he has consistently brushed off our requests, claiming, This is an ongoing investigation.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown concluded his investigation on December 23, 2016. He issued a public statement on December 26th that no charges would be filed against Ian Caine, officially declaring that Caines actions were justified.

Kadeem Trotters Family Files Suit for Recovery

When someone is shot in the back, absent extraordinary circumstances, it’s not a justified shooting, said the familys attorney, Edward Sivin. Sivin, has filed a $10 million Notice of Claim upon the State and the City of New York on behalf of the Trotter family. The family still awaits the district attorneys release of the Medical Examiners Report and surveillance footage from the MTA.