The 25th Hour

Join THE 25TH HOUR in welcoming ACLU Board President Deborah Archer!

Host Dennis Futoryan, Esq., interviews the first Black ACLU President of the Board, Deborah Archer, the 8th ACLU President overall and one with an ambitious racial justice agenda in the post-Trump era. Ms. Archer talks about her role as Board President, her own experiences fighting for racial justice, how the ACLU's agenda balances the group's more well-known First Amendment work, and what the ACLU expects out of the Biden administration.

Don't miss out on this informative and illuminating conversation!

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Time to stay on top of the 24/7 news cycle with THE 25TH HOUR:

• Early voting began in NYC ahead of the June 22nd primary. The top contenders for Mayor took part in a third debate, with most targeting frontrunner Eric Adams about questions concerning whether he truly lives in New York City.
• Governor Cuomo said that once New York State's one-shot vaccination rate hits 70%, he's lifting all COVID restrictions beyond what the CDC has recommended. 
• The New York State Legislature wrapped up its legislative session, passing more than 800 bills touching on gun control, opioids, Trump, parole reform, Cuomo's impeachment, and much more, scheduled to come back briefly to take up on the nomination of Sarah Feinberg as the new MTA chief, before adjourning until Jan 2022.
• Biden traveled to Europe to meet with G7 and NATO leaders ahead of his summit with Russian President Putin, announcing the donation of 500 million vaccines to countries in need. Biden also dropped infrastructure negotiations with Republican Senator Capito and started new ones with a bipartisan group of Senators.
• Congress passed a bill aimed at investing in research and development in technology in order to compete with China's global rise, and Democratic lawmakers called for investigations into Trump's obtaining subpoenaed data on Democrats and reporters who investigated Trump during his Presidency. under the guise of fighting leaks.
• The Supreme Court declined to hear a case about the male-only national draft, but decided that TPS recipients can't get green cards and agreed to take a case about the FBI's spying on Muslims that can change the scope of the national security deference afford to the Executive Branch. 

There's so much more to catch up on, so go ahead and listen to this episode of THE 25TH HOUR to remember what happened in the news beyond the 24/7 news cycle. This Wednesday, June 9th, we are also releasing an interview with ACLU Board President Deborah Archer!

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Time to stay on top of the 24/7 news cycle with THE 25TH HOUR!

This week, we have a special guest: Manhattan DA Candidate Alvin Bragg!

Born and raised in Central Harlem, NY, Bragg is the Visiting Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Racial Justice Project at New York Law School, a member of the Board of Directors of The Legal Aid Society, and works in private practice in his capacity representing clients like Eric Garner’s mother Gwen Carr in her lawsuit against NYC. Bragg went to Harvard and got his law degree there as well, and most recently served as Chief Deputy Attorney General, where he worked on issues related to police misconduct and high-profile cases such as Harvey Weinstein and the Trump Organization. 

Host Dennis Futoryan, Esq., and Alvin Bragg talk about Bragg's experience campaigning, what his plans are for his office, how to assuage worries from 'law and order' voters, Bragg's experiences with street violence and police misconduct as an adult, and more!

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Time to stay on top of the 24/7 news cycle with THE 25TH HOUR!

• COVID rates and deaths are dropping in the City & State, with positive testing averages lower than a percent, and at their lowest points since the start of the pandemic.
• De Blasio announced vaccinations inside schools this week, and professed that he wasn't impressed by any of the mayoral candidates.
• The second NYC mayoral debate came and went with, with perceived frontrunners gunning after each other with renewed aggression.
• Cuomo refuses to release more information on his book contract, but couldn't get away with revealing a nearly $3 million legal contract connected to his nursing home scandal that taxpayers will have to pay for.
• Biden renewed his push to get 70% of the population at least one shot before July 4th, announced a giveaway of 25 million vaccines to countries that need them, and pushed his intelligence agencies to keep getting to the bottom of what caused the pandemic.
• Democrats in Congress are scrambling to figure out their next move after Republicans filibustered a January 6th Commission, while Republicans continue to meet Biden at $1 trillion for his infrastructure proposal, but without new funding.

Thank you so much for listening to THE 25TH HOUR, please don't forget to rate, share, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and don't miss our conversation with Manhattan DA candidate ALVIN BRAGG releasing this Sunday, June 6th, 2021.

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Here's your recap in the news for May 16-22, 2021, with THE 25TH HOUR, helping you remember past the 24/7 news cycle:

* New York City & State are enjoying the fruits of shedding indoor masks now that the CDC released guidance letting fully vaccinated people go maskless in most settings. One of those settings? The trains. But what will you see more of in the trains? Police, as de Blasio announced a 250-officer increase in the trains and platforms to head off increased crime.
* Cuomo tried to one-up the Ohio Governor by introducing a lottery letting people getting their first shots next week qualify for a $5 million lottery. In the background, however, the Governor released tax returns that showed he's set to receive more than $5 million of his own for his COVID leadership book, that he may have written using state resources.
* Biden finally wiped the sweat off his brow as Israel and Hamas announced an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire, celebrated the marking of 60% of Americans receiving at least one dose of the vaccine, pledging to send millions of vaccines to needy countries, and pitching a counteroffer to Republicans for his infrastructure proposal, which now has a $1.7 trillion price tag as opposed to $2.3 trillion.
* Not a good week for a certain someone named Trump, as New York Attorney General Letitia James said her civil investigation into the Trump Organization has now turned into a criminal one, reports showed Trump charging his Secret Service detail $400/night to stay at his Mar-a-Lago resort, and it was revealed Trump used the Dept of Justice during his tenure to get the personal phone and email records of journalists reporting on him.
* However, Republicans are going to bat for Trump, as they threw each under the bus to oppose the passage of a January 6th Commission to study the insurrection incited by Trump that day, as well as funding for increased security around the Capitol building.
* The Supreme Court sent shockwaves as it announced it'll hear a case revolving around a Mississippi abortion ban prohibiting the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with pro-choice activists biting their nails wondering if this is the *one* that conservatives hope would overturn Roe v. Wade.

A reminder that we are taking off for the Memorial Day holiday next week.

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THE 25TH HOUR RECAP for May 9-15, 2021:

• The City & State are reviewing recent CDC guidelines allowing fully vaccinated people to shed their masks indoors, as commuters are incentivized with freebies and easy subway station vaccinations.
• NYC mayoral candidates squared off in the first of three debates, with contenders taking shots at each other in testy exchanges.
• Cuomo has gone from denial to defiance, maintaining he did nothing wrong, period, and is even trying to define the word harassment to reporters.
• Biden celebrates the CDC's new guidance while being thrown off course by the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas as he continues to negotiate his infrastructure proposal with Democrats.
• Liz Cheney has officially been replaced with Elise Stefanik, Marjorie Taylor Greene verbally accosted AOC, and the January 6th Commission is one more step closer to fruition as Republicans continued to make excuses for Trump supporters on the day of the insurrection.
• And if getting vaccinated isn't good enough for you, move to Ohio, where you might win a chance to earn $1 million for your shot.

Come back next week to catch up on the prior week in the news and stay on top of the 24/7 news cycle! Become a Patron today to support the show for as low as $2 a month, and rate/share/subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

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Time to stay on top of the 24/7 news cycle with THE 25TH HOUR!

• De Blasio says "whatever" to Governor Cuomo's plan to reopen NYC faster than de Blasio announced.
• Eric Adams inches ahead of Yang for the first time at the top of the NYC mayoral polls but most voters are still undecided.
• Cuomo signed a bill into law letting parolees have the right to vote again. 
• Biden traveled to Louisiana to promote his infrastructure plan while Republicans reiterate their opposition to whatever Biden pitches, as well as kicking out one of their own, Liz Cheney, from House leadership for her refusal to keep spreading lies about Trump winning the 2020 Presidential election.
• Convicted murderer of George Floyd, Derek Chauvin, was indicted by a federal grand jury, along with three of his other officers, for violating Floyd's civil rights.

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Time to beat the 24/7 news cycle with THE 25TH HOUR!

• De Blasio announced he plans to make the City restriction-free by July 1st, Cuomo be damned.
• Comptroller Scott Stringer's mayoral candidacy is in jeopardy with a surprise 20-year old sexual assault accusation from a former intern, and refuses to resign despite his endorses pulling back, maintaining the relationship was consensual.
• Councilman Chaim Deutsch was ejected from the Council because of his tax fraud case.
• Cuomo maintains he didn't do anything wrong, so it would be impossible for the Attorney General to reach a different conclusion in her investigation. In the meantime, the Governor announced increased capacities in various industries, the return of the State Fair this summer.
• Biden gave his first address to Congress, announcing his American Families Plan, costing to the tunes of trillions of dollars to support free pre-k, community college, paid leave, and much more. Senator Tim Scott gave the official rebuttal, saying America isn't racist while recounting his own memories of being arbitrarily pulled over and watched in stores.

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The 25th Hour Episode 33: April 18-24, 2021

* NYC welcomes walk-in vaccine appointments for all adults.
* De Blasio restarts Operation Ceasefire, an initiative seeking to rein in gun violence by giving gang members jobs and increasing gun buyback programs.
* Cuomo refused to say whether he would resign if it was found that he broke the law with his scandals.
* Biden held an Earth Day summit with multiple nations, promising to cut emissions by half by 2030.
* The House passed a bill admitting DC as the 51st state, with the measure being sent to die in the Senate.
* The Supreme Court dismissed another challenge to overturn the 2020 election and made other key rulings.
* Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer that killed George Floyd, was convicted on all counts this week.

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Time to catch up on last week's news with THE 25TH HOUR:

• Despite stubborn mutation-caused infections, the City is gradually getting back to normal, with music venues slowly reopening and kids signing back up for schools. The Mayor's race heats up, with candidates releasing more policy proposals and coming at each other.
• Cuomo is also carrying on like nothing's wrong, dodging questions about his scandals by hand-picking reporters at events. Cuomo pushed the restaurant curfew to midnight, signed a bill requiring low-cost internet, and followed the CDC's lead in pausing the J&J vaccine.
• Biden announced the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by September 11th, ignoring a May 1st deadline set by Trump, reversed course on keeping Trump's refugee cap, imposed sanctions on Russia for its SolarWinds hack, and continued working on his infrastructure proposal with Republicans, who refuse to pass it and want to pass it at the same time.
• Congress hears more information about the January 6th insurrection, the House passes measures admitting Puerto Rico as the 51st state, creating a commission to study slavery reparations, and Pelosi invited Biden to speak to Congress at the end of April. Everything else will die in the Senate, as per normal.
• The Chauvin-Floyd trial is ending, with closing arguments set for next week, followed by jury deliberations, all occurring at the backdrop of at least three police brutality cases that all came out this week.
• Bernie Madoff is dead, and half-human/half-money embryos are alive.

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