New York is now providing free phone calls from jails, making it the first major U.S. city to eliminate fees for inmate calls, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday.

The Democratic mayor said the city has fully implemented the law passed by the City Council last August.

“For too long have people in custody faced barriers to basic aspects of everyday life,” de Blasio said. “With free phone calls, we’re eliminating one of those barriers and ensuring that people in custody have the opportunity to remain connected to their lawyers, families and support networks that are so crucial to re-entry into one’s community.”

President Donald Trump’s frequent criticism of the media and of judges who rule against his policies undermines the public’s confidence, New York state’s top legal officer said Wednesday amid several state investigations of him or entities linked to him.
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Reacting to Attorney General William Barr’s testimony on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton said the notion that the President can fire any prosecutor investigating him if he feels the accusations are false is “the road to tyranny.”
Clinton made the comments during an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Wednesday evening. During the show, Maddow pointed to something Barr had said in his public testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Berlin – A new survey has found that many Austrians lack basic knowledge of the Nazi genocide — even though the notorious Mauthausen concentration camp was just outside of the city of Linz, and some of the key perpetrators of the Holocaust were Austrian. The study released Thursday by the New York-based Conference on Jewish [...]

In interview with Jewish weekly, Sebastian Kurz defends far-right Freedom Party; local Jewish leader says more must be done to confront anti-Semitism

Leadership and Marketing Update from H. LEINER & CO.
It’s easy to get frustrated when meetings are scheduled for a certain time but start late, go over time, don’t have a clear plan, too many people are involved in the decision-making process, or nothing is accomplished after the time spent at the meeting.
If you relate to any of those issues, here are 3 elements that should be implemented at every single meeting:
 

Waynesville , NC – A police escort is helping take home the body of North Carolina college student hailed as a hero for stopping a gunman in his classroom. An SUV left Charlotte on Thursday morning with 21-year-old Riley Howell, flanked by motorcycles and several other police vehicles with their blue lights flashing. Officials say [...]

Poway, CA – A gunman fired his semi-automatic rifle at Jewish worshippers after walking through a Southern California synagogue’s front entrance — a spot that religious leaders determined last year needed improved security. The Chabad of Poway synagogue applied for a federal grant to install gates and more secure doors to better protect that area. [...]