WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a serious setback for the Department of Justice’s investigation into Donald Trump’s alleged personal hoarding of classified documents after leaving the White House, a federal judge approved on Monday the former President’s request that a special master review the materials seized by the FBI last month from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, as well as temporarily putting some aspects of the DOJ probe on hold.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon – a Trump appointee – ruled that the special master should be allowed to examine the documents in question to see if their review by third parties in law enforcement would either constitute a violation of attorney-client privilege; Trump’s attorneys also argue that the documents should be protected by executive privilege, a claim that the DOJ insists does not apply in this situation.

Judge Cannon noted in her ruling that the special master – who functions as an unbiased third party, and is typically a retired judge – would also be able to weed out “personal” papers that may have been improperly seized by the FBI during their Mar-a-Lago raid on August 8.

“In addition to being deprived of potentially significant personal documents, which alone creates a real harm, Plaintiff faces an unquantifiable potential harm by way of improper disclosure of sensitive information to the public,” she wrote.

Lawyers representing Trump had previously alleged in a court filing that unless a special master was appointed, “the DOJ will impugn, leak, and publicize selective aspects of their investigation with no recourse for [Trump] but to somehow trust the self-restraint of currently unchecked investigators.”

However, the DOJ argued that the appointment of a special master was “unnecessary,” saying that it “would significantly harm important governmental interests, including national security interests.”

Judge Cannon also put a temporary halt to the probe as it relates to the DOJ’s reviewing the seized documents for “investigative purposes,” although a national security review of the records was allowed to continue. However, Cannon rejected a request made by Trump to have the return items to him that were deemed “personal property” expedited.

“For-hire driving in New York City has historically provided good-paying work and a path to the middle class for a vast minority immigrant worker base. Over the last decade, that work has slowly been chipped away despite the need for rides remaining high.”

Thousands of immigrant New Yorkers will face an economic catastrophe if the top five congestion price tolling scenarios included in the MTA Environmental Assessment are realized.

As laid out, the plans would levy additional fees aimed at for-hire vehicles, including Ubers, Lyfts, and taxis doing business in Manhattan south of 60th Street. Organizations like mine, intimately familiar with the challenges faced by these drivers, are troubled by what could come next if policymakers and advocates don’t consider a more equitable approach.

For-hire driving in New York City has historically provided good-paying work and a path to the middle class for a vast minority immigrant worker base. Over the last decade, that work has slowly been chipped away despite the need for rides remaining high. During COVID, these drivers were called essential workers; today, their work is being threatened unfairly as an easy target to help the MTA hit their billion-dollar yearly target for Congestion Pricing.

The recently released and long-delayed “Environmental Assessment” of the proposed Central Business District Tolling Program predicts, in no uncertain terms, the extinction of thousands of driver jobs and significantly fewer earning opportunities for the for-hire industry. By extension, this will also reduce safe and reliable transportation to and from the outer boroughs serving communities of color while, mind you, not changing the cost of rides in the wealthiest part of the city within the Congestion Zone.

The potential fees of these congestion pricing tolling scenarios would be on top of an already existing $2.75-per-trip congestion surcharge added in 2019 to all rideshare trips south of 96th Street in Manhattan. According to the Taxi and Limousine Commission, those fees have generated more than $1 billion in three years. Organizations like the Haitian American Caucus understood these fees as the first step to a fair congestion pricing plan that would encourage travelers to consider shared rides over single occupancy trips, and equalize mobility across streets in Manhattan.

The further strangling of this industry is cruel to the families that depend on it for income and flexible work. It is also shortsighted to add costs for the tens of thousands of New York City residents and rideshare passengers who do not own vehicles but live in an underserved public transit area or need to travel by car from time to time.

It’s also worth remembering that in 2018, the city stopped offering new rideshare licenses. As a result, the number of FHVs making trips fell by nearly 50 percent in the last few years, from 120,000 in 2019 to 70,000 in April 2022. The city is already artificially constraining demand and increasing costs as a result.

Currently, personal vehicles—unquestionably the largest group of vehicles on the road and using parking spots—and utility and delivery vehicles like Amazon, UPS, and FedEx are not facing the financial burdens of an additional congestion fee while given unfettered access to Manhattan streets. That is what this current tolling plan should address.

As the Traffic Mobility Review Board gets to work in recommending a final toll plan, I urge all members to carefully consider what is fair so that all parties involved on Manhattan streets work together to reduce the traffic volume in the Midtown Central Business District. For-hire vehicles are a crucial part of the transit ecosystem. New York City would not be what it is without for-hire drivers playing a significant role.

We need to protect jobs and not gamble with the livelihood of others. The Haitian American Caucus will continue to support the for-hire industry and ensure that the drivers who want to keep driving can.

Samuel M. Pierre, MPA, is the executive director for the Haitian American Caucus-US, Inc, a global community development nonprofit whose mission is to provide Haitian communities worldwide with access to information and resources that will foster self-development and success.

ARKADELPHIA, AR – An Arkansas community is mourning following the tragic death of an Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) Tigers defensive lineman barely into his 20’s who mysteriously collapsed and died on Sunday.

The passing of Clark Yarbrough, 21, was announced by the school in a Twitter post. The school did not provide information on the cause of death.

Yarbrough, a senior at OBU who stood 6’1” tall and weighed 280 pounds, originally came from Sachse, Texas, where he played on his high school team for the OBU Tigers since 2019.

The senior came to OBU by way of Rowlett, Texas, where he played football at Sachse High School. Yarbrough had been with the Tigers since 2019 and was an All-Great American Conference honorable mention selection in 2021, recording 27 tackles for the season.

His final game was last Thursday when the Tigers defeated Oklahoma Baptist 42-32; Yarbrough helped his team score the win by hitting two tackles.

While no cause of death has been revealed as of yet, the suddenness of the terrible event seems to tie into a recent trend sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic of rising numbers of “mystery deaths.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has noted that since February 1, 2020, there have been 942,431 “excess deaths” in the U.S., over and above the norm before the pandemic.

J. Scott Davison, CEO of insurance company OneAmerica, said that “Death rates are up 40 percent over what they were pre-pandemic” among their policy holders, noting that those being affected are working-aged people between the ages of 18 and 64.