Citing the 14th Amendment, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled former President Donald Trump is ineligible to run again. And Rite Aid is accused of recklessly using AI technology on its customers. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023.
Colorado Supreme Court disqualifies Trump from 2024 ballot
Former President Donald Trump has been disqualified from appearing on Colorado’s primary ballot next year after the state’s Supreme Court ruled Trump is ineligible to serve as president because of his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. capitol. The 4-3 ruling is based on Colorado’s high court’s interpretation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, reversing a decision from a lower court. Trump’s team said it would immediately appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Colorado’s Supreme Court is the first in the nation to find the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause” applies to the former president after similar lawsuits in other states have been dismissed. The clause bars anyone who took an oath to uphold the Constitution from office and then engaged in insurrection or rebellion.
The state’s high court, consisting of all Democratic appointees, reversed a decision by a district judge last month that found while Trump incited an insurrection, Section 3 did not apply to the presidency. In its ruling, Colorado’s Supreme Court said it did not take its conclusions lightly but found Section 3 did apply to the former president.
Trump is facing federal charges concerning Jan. 6. One of the three dissenting judges said without an insurrection-related conviction, the court was depriving Trump of due process. A spokesman for the Trump campaign called the ruling a “flawed decision” and said they have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in their favor.
The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision won’t take effect until at least Jan. 4, giving the U.S. Supreme Court time to review the case.
Lawsuit filed over Texas’ newly signed immigration law
Less than 24 hours after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a law that allows Texas law enforcement to arrest any migrants who cross the border illegally, civil rights groups along with Texas’ El Paso County have filed a lawsuit alleging the new law is unconstitutional.
The bill overrides bedrock constitutional principles and flouts federal immigration law while harming Texans, in particular Brown and Black communities.
Adriana Piñon, legal director of the ACLU of Texas
The law, which is set to go into effect in March, also gives judges the power to order deportations. It comes as record numbers of migrants have made it to the U.S.-Mexico border and a surge in illegal border crossings.
Gov. Abbott said the law is necessary while expressing frustration with the Biden administration’s immigration policies. The American Civil Liberties Union said the law is outright unconstitutional.
“Governor Abbott’s efforts to circumvent the federal immigration system and deny people the right to due process is not only unconstitutional, but also dangerously prone to error, and will disproportionately harm black and brown people regardless of their immigration status,” said Anand Balakrishnan, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.
Adriana Piñon, the Legal Director of ACLU of Texas, added that the law wastes billions of tax payer dollars.
“The bill overrides bedrock constitutional principles and flouts federal immigration law while harming Texans, in particular Brown and Black communities,” Piñon said. “Time and time again, elected officials in Texas have ignored their constituents and opted for white supremacist rhetoric and mass incarceration instead.”
Republican state representatives who back the law say Texas and other border states have the “absolute right” to enforce their borders.
Senate confirms top military nominees, ends Tuberville’s hold
Working up to the holiday break, the Senate confirmed a dozen top military nominees on Tuesday, Dec. 19, ending Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s 11-month-long hold on military promotions. Tuberville’s blockade over military promotions started over his protest of the Pentagon’s policy of reimbursing travel costs for military members seeking abortions.
As time went by and stalled promotions began to pile up, Tuberville faced bipartisan criticism that his tactic affected military readiness and threatened national security. Tuberville dropped his hold for most promotions earlier this month, except for four-star officers.
The blockade officially ended last night when Tuberville agreed to drop his objections. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was then able to get a voice vote to pass eleven nominees waiting on four-star promotions.
Rite Aid banned from using AI facial recognition software for 5 years
Rite Aid, the pharmacy chain that filed for bankruptcy in October, is now facing another issue. It has been banned for five years from using artificial intelligence facial recognition technology for surveillance purposes to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission.
In a statement on Tuesday, Dec. 19, the FTC said the retailer failed to implement “reasonable procedures and prevent harm to consumers” using facial recognition in hundreds of its stores. The agency said Rite Aid’s “reckless use” of AI left customers “facing humiliation.”
In its complaint, the FTC said between 2012 and 2020, Rite Aid used AI to capture images of all its customers at select stores and created a database of “persons of interest” suspected of past wrongdoings like shoplifting. The system would send match alerts to Rite Aid workers, who were then instructed to tell the customers to leave the store. The FTC said this led to numerous false positives.
The FTC said Rite Aid did not inform its customers of the technology being used in its stores and instructed employees not to reveal anything to consumers or the media. In a statement, Rite Aid said it had stopped using the technology in a small group of stores more than three years ago.
Nearly 36 million Comcast customers affected by security breach
Comcast has announced that a security breach compromised nearly 36 million of its Xfinity customers’ accounts. According to the cable giant, hackers were able to gain access to its systems through a vulnerability in software provided by the cloud computing company Citrix.
The unauthorized access occurred between Oct. 16 and Oct. 19, more than two weeks after Citrix disclosed its software issue. Customer data “likely acquired” includes usernames, contact details, and the last four digits of social security numbers.
Comcast said in a letter to customers that it notified authorities when it discovered the breach, adding that the software issue has been resolved. However, Xfinity users are being required to reset their passwords.
Blue Origin rocket has successful launch after 2022 crash
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is once again reaching for the stars, as his Blue Origin rocket took another trip out of this world. The New Shepard rocket lifted off from Blue Origin’s Texas facility more than a year after engine troubles led the rocket to crash during a failed launch.
This time, the rocket successfully catapulted a capsule containing 33 science experiments from NASA and other groups into space for a few minutes of weightlessness. Both the capsule and the rocket then landed safely back to Earth.
Although no one was on board the tourism rocket this time, Blue Origin is looking forward to returning to passenger flights soon following this successful mission.