Democrats don't have clear stances on any policy issue, says Princeton political scientist
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Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Early voting kicks off in Detroit ahead of August primary election
Detroiters have the option to vote early for the Aug. 5 primary election at one of many voting centers scattered across the city. Early voting kicked off on Saturday, July 26, giving residents a chance to pick their top choice in candidates to represent them for the next several years. Voting before the primary election is expected to provide Detroiters the flexibility to submit their ballots early and avoid long lines at the polls. At least 279 ballots had been cast at early voting centers by lunchtime July 28, according to Daniel Baxter, the Detroit Elections Department chief of operations, adding that the city expects to receive between 1,250 and 1,750 early voting ballots. Baxter said 100,541 ballots already have already been mailed or issued to voters as of this weekend, and 35,831 have been returned thus far. Turnout in the August 2021 primary reached just above 14% and more than 13% in 2017. Voter turnout is expected to reach anywhere between 13-18% for this year's primary, according to the clerk's office. The last day of early voting is Sunday, Aug. 3, otherwise, voters will have a chance to vote at their polling sites on primary day. Detroit has nine candidates running for mayor to replace Mayor Mike Duggan, who is leaving office to run for Michigan governor. They include, Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, former nonprofit executive and City Council President Saunteel Jenkins, City Councilman Fred Durhal III, former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, attorney Todd Perkins, Pastor Solomon Kinloch, Jr., businessmen Joel Haashiim, entrepreneur Jonathan Barlow, and DaNetta Simpson. Jenkins submitted her ballot Monday morning with her husband Carl Bentley. Here is a list of early voting sites, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for voters: WCCCD Northwest, 8200 W. Outer Drive Detroit, MI 48219 Northwest Activities Center, 18100 Meyers Road Detroit, MI 48235 Farwell Recreation Center 2711 E. Outer Drive Detroit, MI 48234 WCCCD Eastern Campus 5901 Conner St. Detroit, MI 48213 Department of Elections, 2978 W. Grand Blvd. Detroit, MI 48202 Clark Park, 1130 Clark Ave. Detroit, MI 48209 City Clerk's Office, 2 Woodward Ave. Suite 106 Detroit, MI 48226 Adams Butzel Recreation Complex, 10500 Lyndon St. Detroit, MI 48238 Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@ Follow her: @DanaAfana. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Where to vote early in Detroit's August primary election Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Freedom Convoy lawyer dropped as a bank customer after cryptocurrency transactions. Can you be debanked?
A lawyer who represented protestors from the Freedom Convoy and cross-examined former prime minister Justin Trudeau in 2023 said she was unexpectedly dropped as a customer by Royal Bank of Canada after making a couple of cryptocurrency transfers. On July 23, Eva Chipiuk posted a copy of a letter with a subject line of Termination of Banking Relationship on LinkedIn, which she said was sent to her by RBC, where she said she had had an account for about five years. She said in an interview that the letter that let her know the bank was severing their relationship with her, also known as being debanked, followed two transactions with cryptocurrency platform Shakepay Inc. 'After careful consideration, we regretfully advise you that the recent activity in your accounts is outside of RBC's client risk appetite,' the letter said. 'Consequently, we are no longer in a position to continue our banking relationship with you.' Chipiuk said she has since taken her business to another financial institution. An RBC spokesperson, when asked about the situation, said, 'On occasion, a client or the bank may choose to end their banking relationship and that each has the contractual right and discretion' to do so. 'For its part, RBC makes such a decision only after careful consideration of the circumstances,' the spokesperson said. Although not a frequent occurrence, having your account closed by a bank can happen and banks are not obliged to provide a reason. 'Any decision to close an account is not taken lightly,' said a spokesperson from the Canadian Bankers Association, which represents about 60 domestic and foreign banks in Canada. 'Banks make these decisions independently, taking into consideration applicable laws, regulatory requirements and institution-specific factors, and evaluating the risk of their respective clients.' Chipiuk said her account was locked after she sent two e-transfers two days in a row for $1,000 to Shakepay, a financial app that allows people to buy and sell bitcoin. The second transfer was stopped by the bank and triggered an account freeze, she said. She said she eventually had to go to the bank to get her accounts restored. A few days after that, she received the letter from RBC saying that her accounts were set to be closed by mid-August. 'Many of my experiences were incredibly frustrating, feeling like I was a criminal and had to defend myself,' she said. 'After the last interaction, I decided to open an account with Bow Valley Credit Union. I have not had a chance to look into legal options.' During the protests involving the Freedom Convoy in 2022, Canadian banks froze a total of about $7.8 million in about 200 accounts when the federal government invoked its Emergencies Act powers. After posting about the incident on social media, Chipiuk said she received responses from an 'overwhelming amount' of people who told her that they had been debanked through a similar letter. 'It may not be as rare as we think,' she said. The Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI), a non-profit that helps resolve disputes between consumers and financial services, said about five per cent of the complaints it receives each year are linked to debanking. In 2024, OBSI opened 94 cases related to debanking, down from 105 cases in 2023. A spokesperson for OBSI said that if a bank provides a customer with 'a reasonable notice' period before closing the account, the organization does not generally recommend compensation since a bank is 'entitled to end its business' with a customer. However, in certain cases, OBSI will look into whether 'a special situation warranted more notice or flexibility' and investigate whether a bank's decision to close the account was biased or carried out in a fair manner. Making bank complaints in Canada has gotten easier Would a new $150,000 limit be enough to protect Canadians' deposits in case of a bank failure? 'Usually, we find banks have given reasonable notice. In rare cases, we may recommend a refund of fees or compensation if not enough notice was given,' OBSI said. 'We are not able to challenge or change a bank's decision. We are also generally not able to tell the consumer the bank's reason for account closure.' Alana Scotchmer, a lawyer at Gowling WLG who focuses on banking services, said being debanked can prove to be a 'confusing process' for people since they often don't receive a lot of information. 'It is prohibited for banks to give information to customers about why they are being debanked in some instances, like where there are suspicious transactions,' she said. Scotchmer said there has been heightened scrutiny from the government in recent years to ensure that banks tackle issues linked to money laundering and if anything falls 'offside of a bank's risk appetite,' they can discontinue their service. 'They have millions of customers, so they're also looking at patterns of transactions for individual and business customers and the way that money flows across the system,' she said. 'They're often looking at multiple factors when they make these decisions, and several different things can raise red flags for banks.' Scotchmer said banks are not necessarily accusing customers of illegal acts, but they are sometimes just concerned that the risk is 'too great' for the bank to continue the relationship. At the end of the day, banks, despite being 'solid institutions' in society, are not a public service and are not obligated to continue to serve customers where they have assessed that the risk is too high, she said. • Email: nkarim@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oil jumps as Trump shortens Russia's deadline to end Ukraine war, US-EU trade deal spurs demand optimism
Oil prices jumped Monday as President Trump shortened a timeline for Russia to end the war with Ukraine, prompting concerns potential sanctions could hit supply. Meanwhile, an agreement between the US and EU on the framework of a trade deal spurred optimism over demand. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) climbed 1.9% to trade above $66 per barrel, and Brent (BZ=F) crude, the international benchmark price, rose to nearly $69 per barrel. The trade deal between the European Union and the US announced on Sunday includes $750 billion in EU purchases of American oil and natural gas. The stocks of liquified natural gas producers like Cheniere Energy (LNG), NextDecade (NEXT), and Venture Global (VG) all rose Monday as well. The 15% tariff deal on US imports from the EU fueled investors optimism over an eventual agreement with China as Washington and Beijing launched renewed trade talks. Meanwhile on Monday, President Trump shortened a timeline on Russia to end the war with Ukraine, from 50 days to less than two weeks, spurring concerns of a supply shock ahead. The president has threatened 'secondary tariffs' on Russia and countries purchasing from Moscow. "If enforced, oil markets cannot ignore the impact of triple-digit tariffs on Russian oil, given the significant scale of Russian exports and limited OPEC spare capacity, potentially leading to a supply shock," JPMorgan's Natasha Kaneva and her team wrote in a note earlier this month. The EU recently approved tougher price caps on Russian crude exports expected to go into effect in early September as a way to curtail the country's revenue. JPMorgan analysts expect oil price volatility to increase heading into September, citing uncertainty around Russia. The analysts also noted increases in supply from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) will already have been absorbed into the market by the fall. Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
