Obama: Legal system overhaul is needed
PHILADELPHIA – Calling it an issue America can’t afford to ignore, President Barack Obama laid out an expansive vision Tuesday for fixing the criminal justice system by focusing on communities, courtrooms and cellblocks. He announced a federal review of the use of solitary confinement and urged Congress to pass a sentencing reform bill by year’s end.
In a speech to the NAACP’s annual convention, Obama also called for voting rights to be restored to felons who have served their sentences, and said employers should “ban the box” asking job candidates about their past convictions. He said long mandatory minimum sentences now in place should be reduced – or discarded entirely.
A day earlier, Obama commuted the sentences of 46 nonviolent drug offenders the most commutations a president has issued on a single day in at least four decades.
Greece rushing to meet demands
ATHENS, Greece – Greece’s left-wing government launched a frantic 24-hour effort late Tuesday to push more austerity measures through Parliament and meet demands from European creditors as it faced down mounting anger at home.
The belt-tightening measures, which include pension cuts and higher sales tax rates on everything from condoms to racehorses, were agreed upon with eurozone leaders to prevent the Greek economy from collapsing, and as part of a planned third bailout worth $93 billion.
The new measures mean economically-battered Greeks will pay more for most goods and services by the end of the week.
Hard-liners in Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ own Syriza party were in open revolt, and unions and trade associations called for extended strikes to coincide with Wednesday’s Parliament vote.
Associated Press
