Have questions about the Justice Department’s Ferguson report?
On Wednesday, the DOJ issued a scathing report about the Ferguson, Mo. police department, writing that the data “establish clear racial disparities that adversely impact African-Americans.“ The Justice Department also released a report Wednesday saying it found no reliable evidence to disprove the testimony of former officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Michael Brown last summer.
NPR’s Justice Correspondent Carrie Johnson and St. Louis Public Radio’s Emanuele Berry covered the reports & reaction and take your questions at 3pm C.T. / 4pm E.T. today on Reddit.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) announced she will not seek a 6th term. She’s the longest serving woman in Congress. She was first elected to the House in 1976, and has served in the Senate since 1987.
“Do I spend my time raising money or raising hell to meet your day-to-day needs?” she said at today’s announcement.
Note: Apologies, we could only find a #whiteandgold outfit for that 5th photo.
(Photos: Getty Images
Red - On stage at the DNC, 2012; Orange - With then FBI Director Robert Mueller before a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting, 2012; Yellow - At a Girl Scouts event on Capitol Hill, 2012; Green - With Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Singaporean PM Hsien Loong, 2014; Blue - Leaving a closed-door Senate Select Intelligence Committee meeting, 2013. Purple - Mimicking a raven after a Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl win, 2001.)
“This is the greatest country in the world, and we all have to work together whether we are Republican or Democrat. We need to come together, and we need to fight together. … Let’s go back to the core values of what this country was founded on, and God bless America.”
That’s what Rhonda De La Cerda (bottom), one of thousands of attendees of this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference, wants the next presidential nominees to know. Read and hear more responses here.
And you thought today’s Congress has issues playing in the sandbox. On February 20, 1839, Congress passed a law outlawing dueling in Washington D.C. The legislation came after an epic Congressional duel – Rep. Jonathan Cilley of Maine was killed by Rep. William Graves of Kentucky in a three-round duel (two rounds was customary, apparently) just outside the district. Two other members of the House were present and later recommended for censure for their participation.
At issue: Cilley had questioned a newspaper report that accused a member of Congress of corruption.
“The first White House website was launched on Oct. 21, 1994, and Clinton was the first president to use email, though he wasn’t exactly an enthusiastic user. In a 2011 speech, Clinton recalled that he “sent a grand total of two emails as president — one to our troops in the Adriatic, and one to John Glenn when he was 77 years old in outer space,” adding, “I figured it was OK if Congress subpoenaed those.””
This is the 1816 Senate Resolution establishing the Standing Committees of the Senate, from the National Archives.
Today on All Things Considered, NPR’s Juana Summers reports on the modern battle over Congressional committee names, including a recent subcommittee that dropped “civil rights” and “human rights” from its name. And she asks whether anybody cares about the name game outside Washington…Tune in!
The White House Briefing Room was built in 1970, replacing a swimming
pool that had been installed in 1934 to aide in President Franklin D.
Roosevelt’s physical therapy. There’s the stuff you may have seen on TV – about 50 chairs for the press corps, the podium where the press secretary speaks and an emblem of the White House mounted on the
wall. But for those with a more inquisitive eye — and special access — a hidden
gem can be found beneath the floors.
Behind the staging area is a secluded staircase that leads to a room, which
was once the deep end of the former pool. The space now contains 18 miles of
cables, but what’s even more striking is that the walls are completely covered with
signatures and messages from White House staff, journalists and celebrities
including Sarah Jessica Parker, Ben Stiller and Anderson Cooper.
You’re not going to see the room during the typical White
House tour but if you are lucky enough to visit, be sure to come prepared with
a marker in hand. Don’t be like me and attempt to scrawl your name with a pen.
Behold, whitehouse.gov circa 1996. Patriotic waving flag GIFs were probably super high-tech at the time. Were they ever a good idea? Probably not.
Three years later, background colors are apparently discovered.
On September 12, 2001, President Bush’s response to the 9/11 attacks is available online.
Major design improvements arrived in 2007: columns, a light blue theme and a new White House logo.
Remember when the government shut down for two weeks? October 2013.
Fast forward to 2015. Marty McFly returns and — unforeseen in Back to the Future II — President Obama proposes his plan for high-speed, accessible, nationwide broadband.
From Washington Desk intern Emily Martinez: Behold the White House website over the years.
