Amazon union head, others meet at the White House to discuss growing unionization

Vice President Kamala Harris and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh met with union organizers at the White House on Thursday as the administration looks to boost unionization campaigns. Participants in the meeting, which featured an unscheduled appearance by President Joe Biden, discussed organizers’ efforts to form unions in their workplaces, and how those could prompt workers around the country to mount similar organization campaigns, according to a readout from the White House.

Biden thanked them for bolstering organizing momentum nationally. Among the guests were Chris Smalls, who heads the Amazon Labor Union that won a vote last month to unionize warehouse workers on Staten Island, New York. Addressing a union conference in Washington last month, Biden quipped, “By the way, Amazon here we come.”

— The Associated Press

Karine Jean-Pierre is new press secretary

President Joe Biden on Thursday selected Karine Jean-Pierre, the principal deputy press secretary, to replace Jen Psaki as the top White House spokesperson, making her the first Black woman to hold one of the most high-profile jobs in American politics. Jean-Pierre, who worked on Biden’s campaign and has had a long career in Democratic communications, will become the president’s second White House press secretary and will deliver daily briefings from the lectern in the briefing room.

In a statement, Biden said she “not only brings the experience, talent and integrity needed for this difficult job, but she will continue to lead the way in communicating about the work of the Biden-Harris administration on behalf of the American people.”

Jean-Pierre will take over from Psaki, who is leaving the administration and is expected to become a host on MSNBC.

— The New York Times

Student sues armed forces over HIV policy

A military college student said in a lawsuit filed Thursday that armed services officials deemed him unfit for service because he tested positive for HIV. The 20-year-old student from Revere, Massachusetts, said in the complaint against state and federal military officials that he tested positive for HIV in October 2020 during his sophomore year at the nation’s oldest private military college, Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont.

The student, who is identified in the lawsuit only as John Doe, said in the complainthe was deemed unfit for service and dropped from the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and the Vermont Army National Guard despite being healthy, asymptomatic and on a treatment regimen that renders his viral load undetectable. His lawsuit notes he was informed he would not be able to get a scholarship through the ROTC or be entitled to other benefits related to military service, such as medical and dental coverage.

— The Associated Press

Three people killed in ax attack in Israel

Two assailants armed with axes attacked passersby in an Israeli town Thursday night, killing at least three, according to initial reports from police and emergency services. Israeli authorities described the assault, in which several other people were wounded, as a terrorist attack. The attack followed a wave of violence by Arab assailants that had already killed 14 people in cities across Israel since late March, and came days after a Palestinian militant leader urged Arabs to “get your cleavers, axes or knives ready.”

— The Associated Press

Ex-Venezuela mayor surrenders in Miami

A one-time ally of Hugo Chávez wanted for prosecution by his socialist successor Nicolás Maduro has quietly surrendered in Miami in connection to a major bribery scheme involving joint oil ventures with foreign partners. Jhonnathan Marín was serving as mayor of the port city of Guanta in 2017 when he abruptly resigned and fled the country amid a major purge at state run oil giant PDVSA. Later, Maduro’s government ordered his arrest on corruption charges and banned him from running for public office.

He was last believed to be living in Mexico but surfaced in Miami on April 25, where he surrendered and was released the same day on a $100,000 bond, according to court records. According to a criminal complaint, which has not been previously reported, Marín helped pay bribes on behalf of an unnamed co-conspirator who was awarded tens of millions of dollars in contracts fromPDVSA’s joint ventures with Chevron, France’s Total and firms from Russia and China.

— The Associated Press