March of Dimes: Infant mortality rate on the rise

 

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released provisional data showing the largest percentage increase in infant mortality in more than two decades, revealing 20,538 infant deaths reported in 2022, an increase of 3% from the previous year. This is noteworthy as infant mortality has steadily decreased over the last several years. While infant mortality rates significantly increased overall to 5.6 per 1,000 live births, rates among American Indian/Alaskan Native and Black babies are 2.3 times higher than rates among White and Hispanic babies, underscoring the persistent disparities that continue to the widen the health equity gap.

March of Dimes President and CEO Dr. Elizabeth Cherot shares, “It’s disappointing to see such a significant increase in infant deaths after the country has witnessed a steady decline over the last 10 years. As we look ahead to the release of our 2023 March of Dimes Report Card on the state of maternal and infant health later this month, we had been encouraged by the fact that more babies were surviving in the U.S. With today's news, we're disheartened to see that we're now trending in the wrong direction.” She continued, “What's more, the data shows some of the causes of infant death are attributed to preterm birth as well as maternal complications and bacterial sepsis, which accounted for 9% and 14% of deaths respectively. March of Dimes believes maternal and infant health is fundamental to the health of our society and calls on all those affected and concerned by this crisis—including advocates and corporate partners—to join us to ensure every mom and baby get the best possible start.” Read the full statement here.   Together, we can bridge the health equity gap, support families, and improve health outcomes for moms and babies. Sincerely, March of Dimes P.S. On November 16, we’ll release our 2023 March of Dimes Report Card for more information about the state of maternal and infant health at www.marchofdimes.org/report-card.       DONATE NOW                        March of Dimes 1550 Crystal Dr., Ste. 1300 Arlington, VA 22202

POLITICO Nightly: Embrace the Andy Beshear moment. It won’t last.

 

BY CHARLIE MAHTESIAN Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is joined by his wife, Britainy Beshear, and family at an election night event in Louisville, Kentucky. | Stephen Cohen/Getty Images RED-STATE ROCKSTAR — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is justifiably celebrated across his party in the wake of his reelection Tuesday, hailed as the rare example of a red-state Democrat who was able to defy his state’s conservative orientation and win even in places where the Democratic Party brand is toxic. Naturally, amid the euphoria surrounding the Democratic election romp, there’s a burst of chatter about his prospects for national office. If only. In recent decades, Democrats have had a habit of falling in love with their red-state success stories, only to ditch them when they attempt to apply their experience in presidential primaries. The architecture of Beshear’s win is indeed something to marvel at, especially in a party that’s hemorrhaged the kinds of voters who boosted Beshear to victory. He managed to sidestep GOP efforts to nationalize the campaign by tying him to President Joe Biden without any major departures from the party line. And he did it in a state that anchors the northern end of the Trump Belt, a region of doom and Democratic desolation that stretches from Appalachia across the Upland South to Oklahoma. But you don’t have to look far to find another similarly situated governor whose success defied the odds and seemed to offer a Democratic blueprint for how to win in rural and red states — former Montana Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. Like Beshear, Bullock won two terms as governor in a red state where Democratic fortunes have flagged. His 2016 reelection win was a political masterclass. At the top of the Montana ticket, Donald Trump crushed Hillary Clinton by more than 20 percentage points. Republicans flipped three other statewide offices and expanded their legislative majorities. Yet Bullock held on despite the undertow, a rare bright spot on a grim evening for state and national Democrats. Yet when Bullock ran for president in 2020, he got nowhere. His message was straightforward enough. On the heels of Trump’s 25-point win over rural voters in 2016, he argued, his track record made him uniquely suited to take on Trump. “As the only Democrat to win statewide re-election in a Trump state in 2016, I know firsthand: we must reach out to rural voters,” he tweeted in 2019. That message didn’t seem to matter. Twenty Democratic candidates qualified for the first debate round in June 2019, but not Bullock. There were four little known House members, two mayors and several candidates who had never been elected to any office at all on stage, but not the governor who won three consecutive statewide races in a state that had voted Democratic for president just once since 1964. Bullock eventually appeared in one debate, but was forced to drop out of the race before the first primary votes were cast. It’s a familiar story as the party’s standing has deteriorated among rural and red state voters. There’s always interest in a red-state whisperer who can bridge the divide and erase the impression that Democrats are a “coastal party of elites,” to use Bernie Sanders’ description. Yet it never gets very far beyond the infatuation stage. Bullock’s predecessor as Montana governor, Democrat Brian Schweitzer, was another who drew mention as a national prospect, both as a potential veep to Barack Obama in 2008 and as a possible presidential contender in 2016. Missouri’s Jay Nixon was floated for a time. So was Beshear’s father, Steve Beshear, who served as Kentucky governor from 2007 to 2015. One drawback, of course, is that all of these red-state winners are white men — an increasingly awkward fit to lead a diverse, multiracial party with a base comprised of women and voters of color. But it’s also true that Democrats aren’t truly convinced that they need what Beshear is offering. After all, Biden actually ran worse among rural voters than Clinton — and still managed to capture the White House. In Beshear’s case, many aspects of his record will travel well — namely his focus on teacher salaries, infrastructure, pandemic leadership and his responsiveness during natural disasters. Yet there are elements of his tenure that may not survive deeper scrutiny by the national party. The political risks he took in supporting abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights and unions could be overshadowed by the things he didn’t talk about. As the governor of a coal-producing state, he took a pass on addressing climate change issues. The killing of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black EMT who was shot and killed during a botched police raid of her apartment, also didn’t receive much airing during his campaign. Both issues would receive far more scrutiny in a presidential primary. None of this diminishes Beshear’s victory — he ranks as one of the most popular governors in the nation for a reason. But it’s worth remembering where the party’s last four presidential nominees cut their political teeth — Boston, Chicago, New York and Wilmington. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at cmahtesian@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @PoliticoCharlie .   JOIN US ON 11/15 FOR A TALK ON OUR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: As the sustainability movement heats up, so have calls for a national standard for clean fuel. Join POLITICO on Nov. 15 in Washington D.C. as we convene leading officials from the administration, key congressional committees, states and other stakeholders to explore the role of EVs, biofuels, hydrogen and other options in the clean fuel sector and how evolving consumer behaviors are influencing sustainable energy practices. REGISTER HERE .     THE DAY AFTER Abortion rights supporters celebrate winning the referendum on Issue 1, a measure to enshrine a right to abortion in Ohio's Constitution. | Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW — There were a lot of elections Tuesday night. If you missed anything, we understand — Nightly has you covered with a recap from our colleagues at POLITICO. On the issues, abortion rights backers extended their post-Dobbs winning streak in Ohio , as Ohio voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to enshrine protections for reproductive health services, including abortion, in the state constitution. Voters did so even after popular Gov. Mike DeWine cut ads for the “No” campaign, calling the ballot measure “extreme.” Ohio also became the 24th state to embrace weed legalization , after voters comfortably approved a marijuana legalization referendum on the ballot. The new law allows adults over 21 to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and grow up to six plants. The measure creates a Division of Cannabis Control, which is responsible for setting up and regulating the adult-use cannabis market. In Virginia, Democrats swept control of the state legislature , holding the state Senate and picking up the House. Both parties thought control was in play, and Virginia going blue hurts Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s standing as a potential sleeper presidential candidate — and could give a political boost to President Joe Biden. It was a similar story in New Jersey, as Democrats surprisingly not only managed to hold onto their state legislative majorities Tuesday night but expand them . Republicans — benefiting from the unpopularity of Biden, the collapse of two major offshore wind projects and backlash to LGBTQ-friendly policies in public schools — had been hopeful at winning a majority in the state Senate or the Assembly for the first time in more than 20 years. New York state was a bit more of a mixed bag for each party, as voters mostly stuck with incumbents, though Republicans continued to make big gains in the politically crucial suburbs of Long Island. Republican Ed Romaine handily flipped the Suffolk County executive seat, becoming the first Republican to win the office since 1999. In New York City, the exonerated “Central Park Five” member Yusef Salaam won a seat on the City Council , completing a stunning reversal of fortune decades after he was wrongly imprisoned in an infamous rape case. Tuesday’s results were undeniably good for Democrats. But several strategists and officials who worked on this year’s successful campaigns said they fear there would now be a sense of complacency about November 2024 because of what happened in November 2023. Their victories, they warned, didn’t tell us much about the political future of the president , even if they turned on the same hot-button issues that might ultimately help him win again. Or, do you just want the biggest takeaways from a Democratic romp? Read them here . WHAT'D I MISS? — Feds charge three with running high-end brothels allegedly frequented by politicians: The Justice Department said today it is investigating politicians, military officers and government contractors for buying sex through a high-end brothel network operating in Massachusetts and the D.C. suburbs. Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts charged three people with running the network: Han Lee and Junmyung Lee of Massachusetts and James Lee of California. The two Massachusetts defendants were scheduled to have initial court appearances this afternoon. — Ivanka Trump testifies about loan negotiations that cast doubt on her father’s net worth: Ivanka Trump testified today about a 2011 loan negotiation for her father that suggested his true net worth was much lower than what he claimed on his financial statements at the time. On the witness stand in the $250 million civil fraud trial against Donald Trump and his real estate empire, the former president’s daughter said she had helped negotiate to lower the net worth her father was required to maintain in order to obtain a loan from Deutsche Bank for Trump National Doral, the golf resort in Miami. — Florida Supreme Court justices appear open to recreational pot legalization initiative: Justices on Florida’s conservative-leaning Supreme Court today appeared to favor a ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana , pushing back against the state’s arguments that the initiative hides information from potential voters. During the hourlong arguments, the justices pointedly questioned attorneys representing Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, who claims the language of the initiative fails to explain that marijuana is still prohibited under federal law. NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 KICK THE CAN — The Minnesota Supreme Court today punted on a decision that could keep former President Donald Trump off the 2024 presidential ballot in that state, reports POLITICO. The court dismissed a lawsuit that would bar Trump from the primary ballot under a provision of the 14th Amendment that bars people from holding public office if they “engaged in insurrection or rebellion.” But the justices noted today that the decision applied only to the state’s primary, leaving open the possibility that the former president could be booted from the ballot in the general election in November. OLD FRIENDS — When he was in law school, Vivek Ramaswamy attended an event inside a refurbished Second Empire-style mansion in New Haven with a group called Shabtai, a Jewish intellectual society that’s become an elite ecumenical breeding ground , according to the Deseret News. After his first meeting, which he was brought to by a Jewish friend (the group accepts people of all faiths), Ramaswamy became increasingly involved in Shabtai, as he and his wife offered to host events in their Manhattan apartment. As he began his presidential bid, friends he met through Shabtai remained involved — and in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel, Ramaswamy has had to defend a non-interventionist policy as Israel retaliates. He’s now leaning on his relationship with Shabtai, even as the conflict and his political beliefs scramble some of his connections there. SPOOKY SEASON — President Joe Biden’s envoy in Ottawa confided to a crowd of Canadians that fresh polling in key swing states is “sobering and scary,” reports POLITICO. “For people in Canada or the United States who are concerned or troubled by a prospective second term for Donald Trump, those polling results are sobering and scary,” U.S. Ambassador David Cohen told a conference of manufacturers and exporters in Canada’s capital on Tuesday. The comments represented an unusual swerve into domestic U.S. politics by a sitting ambassador and a striking admission of Biden’s vulnerability by one of his most loyal political allies. The White House and Biden campaign have spent much of the past few days working to calm the nerves of Democrats after the latest wave of grim polling on the 2024 election. AROUND THE WORLD The 'Panda Express' takes off as it transports giant pandas from the Smithsonian's National Zoo at Dulles International Airport. | Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images PANDA PROBLEMS — Three of China’s cutest and most beloved diplomats left Washington today , marking a turning point in the struggling relationship between their home country and the United States, write Eric Bazail-Eimil and Andrew Zhang . The diplomats in question were a trio of giant pandas who came to represent China’s burgeoning global ambitions — as well as Washington’s most popular zoo attraction. The arrival and departure of the pandas, which spawned merch lines and a cult-like following, traces the half-century relationship trajectory between a longtime global power and an increasingly influential country that has grown to become its biggest competitor. “There’s no doubt that this is a reflection of the state of bilateral relations,” said Yun Sun, a China expert at the Stimson Center, a foreign affairs think tank. “The pandas are supposed to unify the relationship with the United States, and the relationship between the U.S. and China is so bad anyway, what’s the point of the panda being here?” Tian Tian and Mei Xiang arrived at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington in 2000, taking the place of a panda duo that had recently passed away after coming to the U.S. in 1972. (The third departed panda, Xiao Qi Ji, was born to Mei in 2020.) Although American zoos had giant pandas in the early parts of the 20th century, the arrival of the first duo, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, kicked off American panda fever. Former Chinese leader Mao Zedong had promised former President Richard Nixon those first pandas during the American leader’s groundbreaking visit to China. AGAINST THE TIDE — Indian authorities have barred any pro-Palestinian solidarity protest in Muslim-majority Kashmir and asked Muslim preachers not to mention the conflict in their sermons, residents and religious leaders told The Associated Press. The restrictions are part of India’s efforts to curb any form of protest that could turn into demands for ending New Delhi’s rule in the disputed region. They also reflect a shift in India’s foreign policy under populist Prime Minister Narendra Modi away from its long-held support for the Palestinians, analysts say. India has long walked a tightrope between the warring sides, with historically close ties to both. While India strongly condemned the Oct. 7 attack by the militant group Hamas and expressed solidarity with Israel, it urged that international humanitarian law be upheld in Gaza amid rising civilian deaths.   GET READY FOR POLITICO’S DEFENSE SUMMIT ON 11/14: Russia’s war on Ukraine … China’s threats to Taiwan … a war in Gaza. The U.S. is under increasing pressure to deter, defend and fight in more ways — but not everyone agrees how. Join POLITICO's 3rd Annual Defense Summit on November 14 for exclusive interviews and expert discussions on global security and the U.S.'s race to bolster alliances and stay ahead of adversaries. Explore critical topics, including international conflicts, advanced technology, spending priorities and political dynamics shaping global defense strategies. Don’t miss these timely and important discussions. REGISTER HERE .     NIGHTLY NUMBER 5.5 million The number of borrowers who are enrolled in the Biden administration’s new student loan repayment plan that offers lower monthly payments and caps interest accrual, the White House announced today. About 2.9 million of the borrowers enrolled in the plan have incomes that are low enough that they are not required to make a monthly payment this year, White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden told reporters. RADAR SWEEP SOULMATE AI — How far will you go for love….with an AI bot? The answer for some is a $60 subscription that allows users to build their perfect AI companions . Like any AI, the longer a person interacts with the app, the more the AI learns about you and what you want in a partner — and the more real it becomes. In this story from the Dial, Snigdha Poonam dives into the growing trend of people falling in love with AI bots designed for companionship. But the story isn’t all sappy texts and digitized romantic walks on the beach. Poonam explores the complexities of the issues and the real threats that can happen and already have happened as companies help create AI soulmates around the world. PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1988: Then-Vice President and presidential candidate George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush wave as balloons are dropped during a welcome rally as they watch the 1988 presidential election returns in Houston; at left is George W. Bush. Bush won with 426 electoral votes to his opponent Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis' 111. | John Duricka/AP Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   FOLLOW US

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WilmerHale’s Plan to Buy Blanket Immunity for JPMorgan for Banking Jeffrey Epstein’s Sex Trafficking Ring Has Backfired Badly

 

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WilmerHale’s Plan to Buy Blanket Immunity for JPMorgan for Banking Jeffrey Epstein’s Sex Trafficking Ring Has Backfired Badly

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: November 9, 2023 ~

WilmerHale Law Partner, Felicia Ellsworth

On October 20 we reported that JPMorgan Chase, a serial recidivist when it comes to crime, had paid $1.085 billion in legal expenses in just the last six months. A nice chunk of that money went to the Big Law firm, WilmerHale, which has been representing JPMorgan Chase this year in multiple lawsuits involving the bank’s dark history of financial dealings with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. (See Related Articles at the bottom of this article.)

When the largest bank in the United States pays big bucks to a law firm with a roster of 1,000 attorneys, it doesn’t expect its $290 million class action settlement with Jeffrey Epstein’s victims to blow up in its face just days before the final Fairness Hearing – a legally required court event to determine if the terms of the agreement are “fair, adequate and reasonable.”

That Fairness Hearing will be conducted today in Judge Jed Rakoff’s courtroom in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in lower Manhattan at 4 p.m. It’s a big embarrassment for both WilmerHale and JPMorgan Chase that 16 state Attorneys General and the Attorney General for the District of Columbia are objecting to the terms of the settlement, along with two Epstein claimants.

Judge Rakoff had given the lawyers that hatched the terms of the settlement until November 6 to file their responses to the Attorneys General challenges. The lawyers included WilmerHale representing JPMorgan Chase and high-profile attorney, David Boies (and others) representing the Epstein victims.

Boies brings a lot of baggage with him as a result of his prior representation of now convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein and the strong-arm tactics Boies employed on Weinstein’s behalf. (See Ronan Farrow’s blockbuster investigative report in The New Yorker, Harvey Weinstein’s Army of Spies.)

We had anticipated that WilmerHale might file a respectful response to the Attorneys General objections, perhaps agreeing to change the language in the settlement that the Attorneys General found improper. These are, after all, the highest law enforcement offices in 16 states and the District of Columbia.

We could not have been more wrong. The response from WilmerHale effectively blasted the Attorneys General for sticking their nose where it didn’t belong.

What the Attorneys General are challenging boils down to this: Under the federal law known as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), Attorneys General have the right to bring claims on behalf of sex trafficked victims. The language in the JPMorgan Chase settlement proposes to extinguish those rights. The State Attorneys General explained it as follows in their filing with the court:

“Section 1.25 [of the proposed settlement agreement] releases claims that could be brought to recover damages from the Released Defendant Parties on behalf of a Member of the Class by any other party, including any sovereign or government, relating to or arising from any Member of the Class’s harm, injury, abuse, exploitation, or trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein or by any person who is in any way connected to or otherwise associated with Jeffrey Epstein, as well as any right to recovery on account thereof. (Emphasis added.)”

WilmerHale and David Boies’ settlement agreement hoped to pay Boies and his fellow lawyers working on behalf of the victims $87 million in legal fees; $2.5 million in legal expenses; and buy blanket immunity going forward for all those JPMorgan executives and the bank’s ultra wealthy clients who were regular visitors to Epstein’s mansions/brothels; as well as the bank’s employees who were funneling $40,000 to $80,000 in hard cash each month to Epstein for over a decade while the bank failed to file the legally-mandated Suspicious Activity Reports.

It’s a sweet deal for lawyers and a sweet deal for a recidivist money laundering bank. (See JPMorgan/Jeffrey Epstein Cases Are a Cross Between the Bank’s Chinese Princeling Scandal and Madoff Fraud, Using Sex with Minors as a Bribe.) But it’s a very bad deal for the public interest.

The lawyer who drafted and signed WilmerHale’s response to the objections of the state Attorneys General was law partner, Felicia Ellsworth, the Vice Chair of WilmerHale’s Litigation/Controversy Department. Ellsworth goes for the jugular with this in her response:

“Standing between the victims and this compensation are the Attorneys General of New Mexico, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, and Vermont. These Attorneys General have no stake in this matter: they do not articulate any reason why the settlement would harm their states or their citizens. Just the opposite, their objection undermines the settlement and the victims they claim to support.

“First, there is no procedural mechanism for the Attorneys General—who are neither parties to the case, nor members of the certified class—to object to the proposed settlement.

“Second, the Attorneys General identify no legal or equitable flaw in the proposed settlement, whether to their respective States or to their citizens. With no stake in this case, the Court should decline the Attorneys General’s invitation to issue an advisory opinion.”

In reality, the challenge from the Attorneys General very specifically identified the legal flaw in the settlement and cited to numerous examples of case law that backed up their arguments. In one section, they explained to the court as follows:

“In adding Section 1595(d) to the civil remedy section of the TVPA, which previously only explicitly recognized victim suits, Congress intended to ‘unleash’ the power of state law enforcement to prosecute these heinous sex-trafficking crimes, recognizing that, in many circumstances, victims are unable or unwilling to come forward and ‘more prosecutors,’ ‘more investigators,’ and ‘more resources’ are needed to ‘address this growing problem throughout our country.’…‘This amendment is needed in order to give enhanced powers to State attorneys general that they can provide the extra litigation leverage for individuals who are impacted in a devastating manner.’…If broad releases of non-party state Attorneys General law enforcement actions under the TVPA seeking victim-specific relief were deemed permissible without their express consent, state Attorneys General may be deterred from bringing these important civil law enforcement actions in the future – upsetting Congress’ very purpose in amending the TVPA to add state law enforcement.”

Related Articles:

New Court Documents Suggest the Justice Department Under Four Presidents Covered Up Jeffrey Epstein’s Money Laundering at JPMorgan Chase

Former FBI Agent Prepared to Testify that JPMorgan Had Jeffrey Epstein Account for 28 Years – Not 15 Years – and “Impeded” Criminal Investigation of Epstein

JPMorgan Listed a “Lolita’s Closet” on the New York Stock Exchange for Jeffrey Epstein’s Money Man, Les Wexner

Gary Gensler’s SEC Is Drawing a Dark Curtain Around Child Sex Trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, His Money Man Leslie Wexner and Their Ties to JPMorgan

JPMorgan Had a Secret Project that Is Now Spreading Its Scandalous Internal Emails with Sex Trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to News Outlets Worldwide

JPMorgan Is Alleged to Have Used Its Hedge Fund’s Private Jet to Engage in Sex-Trafficking for Jeffrey Epstein

JPMorgan Chase and Jeffrey Epstein Were Both Involved in a Strange Offshore Company Called Liquid Funding

The Company Under Scrutiny in the Jeffrey Epstein Case Has Semi-Nude Young Females on its Board of Directors’ Page

Jamie Dimon’s Deposition in Epstein Case Reveals Email Stating that Dimon Was to Be Treated to “Heavy Snacks” at Epstein’s Home

The Justice Department Has Had the Epstein Case Since July 2006 – It’s Time to Arrest Accomplices