Latest news with #PaulPerkins
BBC News
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'Music gave me my voice back after having a stroke'
The power of music has been credited by a stroke victim for allowing him to recover the use of his Perkins, from Grove in Oxfordshire, was left unable to communicate after falling ill in April former carpenter could not speak due to a condition called aphasia - often caused by brain damage as a result of strokes - that can also impact people's ability to read, write or understand rediscovered his voice through the songs of Elvis Presley, Mr Perkins is now highlighting the positive impact music and singing can have for others like him as part of Stroke Awareness Month. "I was working in Wantage, and [a customer] said to me 'do you want a cup of tea?' and I said 'yes, OK'," the 68-year-old told the BBC."She gave me the cup and I put it down, and next I know I fell straight - I went down."That was the end of me." Mr Perkins said he does not remember anything more until he woke up in hospital three days later unable to speak. He felt like he did not know anything and would have to re-learn basic life skills. "I was a carpenter all my life and now, all of a sudden, I've got to start like a little baby," he said. "I could do talking [in my head] but it wouldn't come out of myself," he said the "terrible" situation left him feeling "useless" and asking "why me?".It was during his time in hospital that Mr Parker's partner, Miriam Doyle, began playing music for said: "He's always loved music of any sort, and so I thought I'd play him music in the background." Two weeks after the stroke and now back at home, Ms Doyle said she spotted Mr Perkins listening to music on an "looked up and saw him mumbling away" to Elvis classic Can't Help Falling in Love. It was the first time Mr Perkins had audibly communicated since the stroke."For both of us there were goosebumps and tears," she said of the Perkins is now able to speak, having had to relearn the alphabet, and attends singing groups with other stroke victims."People really don't know to do some singing, and all of a sudden you start to come into yourself," he said."I still struggle with my speech, but singing has given me the confidence to keep trying."Ms Doyle said she was "immensely proud" of how her partner had "reinvented himself after his stroke"."He'd always been a very shy and unassuming person, but now he's putting himself out there to try and help others and to raise awareness," she added. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Verge
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Verge
Will the real Register please speak up?
Shira Perlmutter, who may or may not be the head of the Copyright Office depending on how deranged the Supreme Court's interpretation of executive power becomes, has now sued the Trump administration, including Perlmutter's supposed replacement Paul Perkins 'in his capacity as the person claiming to be the Register of Copyrights.'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Library of Congress Staff Mount Standoff Against New MAGA Bosses
Two Justice Department officials were denied access to the Library of Congress Monday, causing a brief standoff on Capitol Hill. The two officials–Paul Perkins, an associate deputy attorney general, and Brian Nieves, a deputy chief of staff and senior policy counsel–were trying to seek access to the U.S. Copyright Office but were denied entry at around 9 a.m., sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The New York Times. The pair had brought a letter from the White House declaring that they were going to be serving in two top positions at the library under Todd Blanche's leadership and recommendation. Blanche, the deputy attorney general, was named acting Librarian of Congress by President Donald Trump on Monday—an appointment that would have to be confirmed by the Senate. The letter reportedly declared that Perkins would be acting as register of copyrights and director of the Copyright Office, while Nieves would be the acting deputy librarian, according to The Times. Library staff members called U.S. Capitol Police, however the two Justice Department officials left willingly after General Counsel Meg Williams asked them to leave and reiterated they were not allowed access to the Copyright Office. Representatives at the Justice Department and Library of Congress did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast's request for comment. The president launched a re-haul of the library last week after dismissing former Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, on Thursday. He then proceeded to fire the director of the Copyright Office, Shira Perlmutter, over the weekend, according to several reports. Despite Trump's appointment of Blanche, library staff have reportedly been recognizing Robert Newlen as their interim replacement instead, according to The Times' sources. Newlen was principal deputy librarian and Hayden's second-in-command. Staff seem to be waiting for direction from Congress, with Newlen additionally sending an email to employees saying he did not recognize Blanche's appointment as valid, according to Politico. The string of terminations have sparked an outcry from House Democrats like Rep. Joe Morelle who described Trump's termination of Perlmutter in particular a 'brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis' in a statement Saturday. Perlmutter was notably laid off from the Copyright Office after publishing a report on the contentions between artificial intelligence and fair use. Blanche, meanwhile, was Trump's lead defense lawyer during his Manhattan criminal trial last year.
The Independent
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Two Trump appointees escorted out of Library of Congress amid White House takeover, report says
Two officials at the Justice Department selected by Donald Trump to take on positions at the Library of Congress were turned away from the premises on Monday in what was described to the media as a 'stand-off' by employees. After the president abruptly fired Carla Hayden, the Barack Obama-appointed Librarian of Congress, the agency has become the newest target of the White House's efforts to bring every part of government under the thumb of Trump and his team. Though the Library of Congress is part of the Legislative Branch, its director is appointed by the president, with Senate confirmation. On Monday, Trump reportedly selected Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to serve as the acting agency director. But employees at the agency, seeking guidance from Congress, refused entry to two other Department of Justice officials tapped for supporting roles at the Library of Congress early Monday morning. The 'stand-off,' as it was described by The New York Times, involved Associate Deputy Attorney General Paul Perkins, who was appointed to serve as acting director of the US Copyright Office, and Brian Nieves, who was set to be acting deputy librarian under Blanche. Their entry was reportedly refused by the agency's general counsel and staffers, who called U.S. Capitol Police to defuse the situation. But Nieves and Perkins left the building before police arrived, according to reports, and a statement from a U.S. Capitol Police spokesperson confirmed that officers were not involved in denying anyone entry or escorting anyone from the building. Democrats say that Trump's unprecedented move to exert control over the typically independent Library of Congress is related to a race-oriented effort to purge diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) language and rhetoric from the federal government. Hayden was the first Black American and first woman to run the Library of Congress. 'Donald Trump's termination of Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis. It is surely no coincidence he acted less than a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk's efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models,' Joe Morelle, a New York House Democrat, said in a statement Saturday 'This action once again tramples on Congress's Article One authority and throws a trillion-dollar industry into chaos. When will my Republican colleagues decide enough is enough?' On Monday, Morelle escalated his attack. In a new statement, he accused DOGE staffers of having 'improper' conversations with Library of Congress employees and requesting the 'unauthorized transfer of data' from the agency. He and five other Democrats called for an investigation in a letter to the Library's Office of Inspector General. 'The Library is part of the legislative branch—an independent and coequal branch of government. The executive has no authority to demand or receive confidential legislative branch data, and the Library has no legal basis to supply such information without authorization from Congress,' the lawmakers wrote in a joint letter to the Library of Congress inspector general. 'The Members request that the IG's Office investigates ... whether the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) or other executive branch entities have requested or otherwise attempted to access or review Library data, including but not limited to communications between the Congressional Research Service and congressional offices,' the letter added. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, on Friday proved that she did not understand the function of the agency as she depicted Hayden and her staff as loaning out books — like a typical public library — as she tried to defend Hayden's firing during a news conference. 'There were quite concerning things that she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI and putting inappropriate books in the library for children,' Leavitt claimed, without giving examples. Prior to Hayden's firing, a president had not removed a Librarian of Congress in more than 100 years. Agency staffers, according to the Times, are currently recognizing principal deputy librarian Robert Newlen as the library's acting director until Congress' Joint Committee on the Library provides clarity. With both chambers of Congress currently in Republican hands, the chair of the committee is GOP Rep. Bryan Steil and the vice chair is Senator Mitch McConnell, formerly his party's Senate majority leader.
CNN
12-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Senior Justice Department officials tapped by Trump to run Library of Congress are denied access
Two senior Justice Department officials appointed by President Donald Trump to run the Library of Congress were denied access on Monday, according to a person familiar with the interaction. Paul Perkins and Brian Nieves are expected to hold positions at the Library of Congress, according to the DOJ. Perkins will serve as acting register of copyrights in addition to his role as associate deputy attorney general, and Nieves will fill the role as acting deputy librarian of Congress as well as serving as chief of staff for Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Around 9 a.m. Monday, Nieves and Perkins showed up to the US Copyright Office in Washington with a letter announcing Blanche was being appointed to serve as acting librarian of Congress. They had a separate email outlining their appointments. The men 'were not allowed into offices' and left later Monday morning, the person said. The person added that the Library of Congress, which is a legislative-branch agency, has not received direction from Congress on how to move forward. CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment on the letter and the interaction. As librarian of Congress, Blanche will replace Carla Hayden, who was fired by the White House last week. Hayden had served in the position since 2016 and had about a year and half left in her 10-year-term. She was the first woman and first Black person to serve in the role. The librarian of Congress is a position that requires presidential appointment followed by Senate confirmation. The librarian has several duties, including overseeing the more than 178 million items in the library's collection. Blanche represented Donald Trump during his 2024 criminal hush money trial, which ended with the then-former president being found guilty on 34 felony counts. Rep. Joe Morelle, a New York Democrat, on Monday called the firing of the librarian of Congress and removal of the Copyright Office director an 'assault on Congressional authority and independence.' 'I've asked the LOC Inspector General to investigate potential improper access to confidential congressional data,' Morelle wrote on X.
