West
US senators demand answers on closure plan for California women's prison where inmates were sexually abused
- Nearly all inmates from the troubled women’s prison in California have been transferred out as it is set to be closed down.
- The closure plan prompted U.S. senators to demand explanations due to reports of chaotic transfers and mistreatment during transport.
- The Bureau of Prisons claimed to address inmates’ needs with compassion but faced criticism over the handling of the closure.
Nearly all inmates have been transferred out of a troubled women’s prison set to be shut down in California, and U.S. senators on Wednesday demanded an accounting of the rapid closure plan for the facility where sexual abuse by guards was rampant.
As of Tuesday only “a small group” of women were still being held at FCI Dublin, with the majority of its 605 inmates having been sent this week to other federal facilities, said Donald Murphy, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons, or BOP. The unspecified number who remained at the minimum security prison near Oakland were pending release or transfer to halfway houses, he said.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to the BOP expressing concern over claims of a chaotic transfer process during which inmates on buses and planes didn’t receive proper medical care and were reportedly subjected to “mistreatment, harassment, neglect, and abuse while in transit.”
BUREAU OF PRISONS TO CLOSE CALIFORNIA WOMEN’S PRISON WHERE INMATES HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO SEX ABUSE
Susan Beaty, a lawyer for inmates who blew the whistle on the conditions at the prison, said there were reports that during transport guards made abusive comments to the women, “labeling them as snitches, referring to the closure of Dublin.” In addition, the inmates were shackled at their wrists and ankles for the entirety of their long journeys, despite their minimum-security classification, and in some cases were denied water and trips to the bathroom, Beaty said.
The Federal Correctional Institution is seen in Dublin, California, on April 15, 2024. Nearly all inmates have been transferred out of the troubled women’s prison set to be shut down in California, and U.S. senators on Wednesday, April 24, demanded an accounting of the rapid closure plan for the facility where sexual abuse by guards was rampant. (AP Photo/Terry Chea, File)
The BOP didn’t immediately respond to the senators’ letter, but Murphy said the bureau was addressing all the inmates’ needs with “compassion and respect” during the transfer process.
“The process involved careful planning and coordination to ensure the safe transfer of women to other facilities, with special attention given to their unique programming, medical, and mental health requirements,” he wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “We remain committed to helping each individual adjust to their new environment with the necessary care and support.”
A 2021 Associated Press investigation exposed a “rape club” culture at the prison where a pattern of abuse and mismanagement went back decades. The Bureau of Prisons repeatedly promised to improve the culture and environment — but the decision to shutter the facility represented an extraordinary acknowledgment that reform efforts failed.
FBI AGAIN SEARCHES CALIFORNIA FEDERAL WOMEN’S PRISON PLAGUED BY SEXUAL ABUSE
Following the sudden announcement April 15 that FCI Dublin would be shut down, U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordered a case-by-case review of each inmate’s specific needs before the transfers began.
In response, the bureau filed court papers questioning the authority of the special master appointed by the judge on April 5 to oversee the prison, who was tasked with reviewing each woman’s status. Inmate advocates hoped the judge’s decision would slow the shutdown. But the bureau proceeded with the process anyway, saying in a court filing that “extensive resources and employee hours have already been invested in the move.”
Five Senate judiciary committee members on Wednesday asked Bureau of Prisons director Colette Peters to provide information on preparations to close the facility and guidance given “for the safe and humane release from custody or transfer of individuals to other BOP facilities.”
“Individuals in custody at FCI Dublin have long endured a toxic carceral culture marked by sexual assault, harassment, and medical neglect at the hands of BOP staff. And now, while subjected to the deprivations and indignities of a flawed and rushed closure and transfer protocol, women in custody are reporting hostility and retaliation from BOP employees who blame them for the facility’s closure. This is unacceptable,” said the letter signed by Democratic senators Cory Booker of New Jersey; Richard Durbin of Illinois; Jon Osoff of Georgia; and Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler of California.
Beaty said some of her clients have reportedly been sent to facilities in Texas, Florida, Minnesota and West Virginia.
“These are women who’d been able to see their kids and their parents and loved ones with some regularity. Now they’re distraught because they’ve been ripped apart,” Beaty said.
Advocates had called for most inmates to be freed — not transferred — from FCI Dublin, which they said was not only plagued by sexual abuse but also has hazardous mold, asbestos and inadequate health care. They also worry that some of the safety concerns could persist at other women’s prisons.
Last August, eight FCI Dublin inmates sued the Bureau of Prisons, alleging the agency had failed to root out sexual abuse at the facility. Their lawyers have said the civil litigation will continue.
Read the full article from Here
San Francisco, CA
Americans have now spent all $2.1 trillion of their pandemic savings, San Francisco Fed says
US households have exhausted the pile of cash squirreled away during the pandemic, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
“The latest estimates of overall pandemic excess savings remaining in the US economy have turned negative, suggesting that American households fully spent their pandemic-era savings as of March 2024,” San Francisco Fed economists Hamza Abdelrahman and Luiz Oliveira said in a blog post published Friday. The duo have been updating their estimates regularly over time, and last year flagged that the US savings surplus was lasting longer than previously expected, helping to hold up spending.
Pandemic-era excess savings — the difference between actual savings and the pre-pandemic trend — swelled to $2.1 trillion from March 2020 to August 2021. From that point, households drew on those savings at an average monthly pace of $70 billion, and that spending accelerated to $85 billion per month last fall before dropping to -$72 billion in March, according to the researchers.
Americans were able to build up extra savings while stuck at home during the pandemic, in part due to extraordinary government support. The reserves are widely thought to have helped the US economy continually defy forecasters’ expectations for a downturn, even as the Fed implemented a historically rapid interest-rate hiking cycle.
As long as Americans can keep up their spending through other means — like continuous employment or wage gains, other savings, or more debt — the exhaustion of pandemic cash is unlikely to result in a drop in consumer spending overall, Abdelrahman and Oliveira wrote.
But cracks may be forming. Last week, Amazon and Starbucks earnings reports both pointed to an increasingly budget-conscious consumer, and a pullback in demand would be in line with a Bloomberg Economics forecast for a slowdown in consumer spending this year from 2023’s robust pace.
Read More: US INSIGHT: Three Forecast Methods Say Consumption to Slow (1)
New York Fed President John Williams said Monday the bank has heard from retailers that many consumers are being “much more careful about their spending and we’re seeing some slowing there.”
Lower- and moderate-income households in particular have spent down their pandemic reserves and “we are seeing some delinquency rates on credit cards and auto loans pick up,” Williams said at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles.
“In the big picture, it’s an economy that’s still healthy but growing somewhat slower,” he said.
Denver, CO
Broncos 2024 schedule predictions: Will Russell Wilson’s return serve as kickoff to Sean Payton’s second season in Denver?
Which quarterback is going to start for the Broncos come Week 1? This week, a different question: Which quarterback will Sean Payton’s team be facing in Week 1?
Could it be Russell Wilson? Patrick Mahomes? Justin Herbert or Aaron Rodgers?
They’re all on the docket for Denver this fall and we should find out soon in what order Denver will face them.
The past couple of years, the NFL has announced its full slate the second Thursday of May (this year, that’s May 9). But as of Monday afternoon, the league hasn’t actually announced its plans.
Still, it’s coming. Probably soon. And that means the moment has again arrived for a time-honored Denver Post tradition: Predicting the Broncos’ schedule.
There’s not many clues so far. We know Denver’s not playing an international game. They’re unlikely to play Thanksgiving Day since it would have to be the primetime slot — Detroit and Dallas host the other two games that day and the Broncos don’t play either.
A new NFL wrinkle this winter: A pair of Christmas Day games despite the holiday falling on a Wednesday. If Denver gets one of those, it will be playing the Saturday before.
Without further ado, here are the dueling scheduling predictions from Broncos beat reporters Parker Gabriel and Ryan McFadden. To the winner: Eternal glory.
McFadden’s projection
Week 1: Indianapolis Colts
Week 2: at Baltimore Ravens
Week 3: at New York Jets
Week 4: Pittsburgh Steelers (Sunday Night Football)
Out of all the games on Denver’s schedule, its matchup against Pittsburgh is one of the few that warrants the spotlight. Less than a year after getting let go from the Broncos, Russell Wilson comes back to the Mile High City with the opportunity to get revenge on head coach Sean Payton, who benched him near the end of the 2023 campaign.
Week 5: at Los Angeles Chargers
Week 6: Bye
Week 7: Carolina Panthers
This might be the least intriguing matchup on Denver’s schedule. Still, this will be an opportunity for the Broncos to build some momentum coming out of the bye week.
Week 8: at New Orleans Saints
Payton will return to New Orleans, where he won a Super Bowl and built one of the league’s most prolific offenses, for the first time as Denver’s head coach. Given the state of both organizations, it’s hard to see this matchup getting a prime time slot. But this will still be a big moment for Payton and the Saints’ fanbase.
Week 9: Las Vegas Raiders
Week 10: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 11: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 12: Cleveland Browns
Week 13: at Cincinnati Bengals (Thursday Night Football)
Nix vs. Joe Burrow. Pat Surtain II vs. Ja’Marr Chase. If Nix is indeed the quarterback Payton envisioned him to be, this game warrants a prime time slot.
Week 14: Atlanta Falcons
Week 15: L.A. Chargers
Week 16: at Seattle Seahawks
Week 17: at Las Vegas Raiders
Week 18: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The only implications this game might have will be the Chiefs trying to secure the first seed in the AFC playoff race — and the Broncos’ draft slot, of course.
Gabriel’s projection
Week 1: Pittsburgh Steelers (Monday Night Football)
The Broncos aren’t likely to be a big primetime draw this fall given the mild expectations, but Russell Wilson’s return will do the trick. Note to the NFL schedule-makers: This one should be early in the season or it could end up being Justin Fields vs. the Broncos.
Week 2: at L.A. Chargers
Week 3: Indianapolis Colts
Week 4: at New Orleans
Maybe you’ve heard: Payton used to coach the Saints. His return to the Bayou will be quite a spectacle, especially if he’s waltzing in with a rookie quarterback as his starter and, essentially, the key to his second act in the NFL.
Week 5: Kansas City Chiefs
Week 6: at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 7: at New York Jets
The Broncos have four games in the Eastern time zone this fall. If Denver gets two of them in back-to-back weeks, look for the franchise to make arrangements to set up shop somewhere out there — a week at the Greenbriar in West Virginia, anyone? — rather than trek back to Denver in between.
Week 8: Bye
Week 9: Atlanta Falcons
Week 10: at Las Vegas Raiders
Week 11: Carolina Panthers (Thursday Night Football)
Week 12: at Seattle Seahawks
Week 13: at Kansas City Chiefs
The Broncos ended the losing streak against Patrick Mahomes and Co. last fall in Denver. Notching a win at Arrowhead in December would be another matter entirely.
Week 14: Cleveland Browns
Week 15: at Baltimore Ravens
Week 16: Las Vegas Raiders
This is the week that would be a Saturday game if the Broncos were going to get put on the Wednesday, Christmas Day extravaganza. Let’s not.
Week 17: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Probably manifesting too hard here by avoiding Christmas Day and slotting the trip to Florida for late December, but hey, this is my projection. I’m not asking for that much.
Week 18: L.A. Chargers
Last year the Broncos bookended the season with the Raiders. This year we project a different divisional opponent. Soon enough, we’ll know what the actual scheduling overlords have in store.
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.
2026 Solar Eclipse: Princess Cruises to sail into totality
Kamala Harris promotes Biden administration’s aid for small businesses in Detroit stop
Americans have now spent all $2.1 trillion of their pandemic savings, San Francisco Fed says
Final track and field leaders (5/6): Which Dallas-area athletes, teams had the best marks
Hypebeast. Driving Culture Forward
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
At least 2 dead as tornadoes hit Alabama, damage homes across Southeast
Compass Direct LLC’s 2024 Registration in North Carolina
Presidential polls show deadlocked race as party conventions quickly approach
Tech compliance reports, Newsletter
Columbia University cancels its main commencement ceremony after weeks of turmoil
House Dems seeking re-election seemingly reverse course, call on Biden to 'bring order to the southern border'
-
News1 week agoBoth sides prepare as Florida's six-week abortion ban is set to take effect Wednesday
-
Politics1 week agoColumbia University’s policy-making senate votes for resolution calling to investigate school’s leadership
-
Politics1 week agoGOP Rep. Bill Posey won't seek re-election, endorses former Florida Senate President as replacement
-
World1 week agoBrussels, my love? MEPs check out of Strasbourg after 5 eventful years
-
World1 week agoRussian forces gained partial control of Donetsk's Ocheretyne town
-
Politics1 week agoHouse Republicans brace for spring legislative sprint with one less GOP vote
-
World1 week agoAt least four dead in US after dozens of tornadoes rip through Oklahoma
-
Politics1 week agoAnti-Trump DA's no-show at debate leaves challenger facing off against empty podium