Mark Shuster, Owner/Partner, has a distinguished sales and management background and has been in the insurance industry for over 26 years.
He is licensed in 43 states, and has sold over $36 million in personally produced business, making him the highest producing health insurance agent in the history of a major Fortune 500 company, and at each of the companies he has recently been employed.
As the founding member of Health Insurance 4 Everyone, and as the owner/member of Health & Life Solutions, LLC, Mark oversees the sales, recruitment, and strategic planning needs for the company’s nationwide direct and telemarketing sales teams.
He has been instrumental in the start up and development of offices throughout the country, and has served as an industry spokesman and sales trainer, at each of the Fortune 500 companies where he was employed throughout his career. Mark’s experience and leadership provides his company with the skills and resources needed to set and achieve the highest sales and management goals in the industry.
His training and selling philosophy focuses on ensuring a “value package” of insurance products, keeping the customer’s needs in mind, which then results in increased long term customer retention standards.
His demonstrated success at providing unprecedented customer satisfaction, through the team he manages and leads, is unmatched within the industry.
Prior to entering his career in the insurance industry 26 years ago, he managed cable television and broadcast systems throughout the Midwest and the East Coast. He is a former aide to U.S. Senators, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, and holds a Political Science Bachelor of Arts degree from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Corinne Kolasienski
Corinne Kolasienski, Owner/Partner, served as the Regional Team Leader at the company headquarters based in the Hartford, Connecticut area. She has a varied career in sales and management that spans close to 25 years in the insurance industry. She has served in positions of sales management, as Vice President of Sales, and just prior to joining the Health Insurance 4 Everyone team, served as the CEO of a company which she founded that provides corporate recognition programs, human resources, and customer service consulting in numerous industries around the country.
Happy young couple sitting on the floor of new house surrounded by boxes
She is recognized for her success in developing customer service support initiatives and in the training and development of sales teams throughout the United States. Corinne initially joined the company’s headquarters office as the Director of Personnel and Recruitment. She quickly moved up and became a founding member of the company’s new headquarters, providing the recruitment, training and development of the company’s fastest growing sales team, as awarded in 2008, 2009 and year-to-date in 2010.
She recently became a founding member of the management team for the new Health Insurance 4 Everyone Company which was restructured and incorporated in early 2010. She has distinguished herself as a role model in personal sales production, and has demonstrated her successful leadership skills in moving the newer team members quickly through the training process, and on to become “top closers” in the business. Corinne brings to the company a level of enthusiasm and professionalism that inspires her team members to set and then exceed their own personal production goals. She is one of the company’s most dynamic managers in bringing the sales teams a level of success unmatched by others in the industry.
What our clients say….
Health Insurance 4 Everyone (Hi4e.org), is positioned to capture the impending surge of growth from the recent national health care reforms.
A new portfolio of supplemental life insurance, disability, long-term care and Medicare supplement products ensure that the company can offer “insurance plans for everyone”.
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President Donald Trump announced the firing of FBI Director James Comey, the man who is responsible for the bureau’s investigation into whether members of the Trump campaign team colluded with Russia in its interference in last year’s election. The administration attributed Comey’s dismissal to his handling of the investigation into Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s email server, but many suggested the reason behind his dismissal was that Comey was getting too close to the White House with the Russia probe.
The news caught Comey by surprise as it flashed on television screens in the room as he spoke to FBI agents at an event in Los Angeles. His firing is the first dismissal of an FBI chief since 1993 when President Clinton ousted William Sessions as FBI director after Sessions refused to voluntarily step down amid ethical concerns.
President Trump stated in a letter to Comey that he agrees with his Department of Justice’s assessment that Comey is “not able to effectively lead the Bureau.” Those findings, specifically from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, stem from Rosenstein’s belief that Comey mishandled the Clinton investigation.
Trump’s actions were a turnaround from his stance just seven months ago on the campaign trail, when he repeatedly praised Comey for reopening the investigation into the scandal surrounding Hillary Clinton’s private email server. Just days away from the election, Comey sent a letter to Congress stating that the FBI had reopened its investigation into Clinton. The decision was made because of its investigation into former Rep. Anthony Weiner, who is married to Clinton confidant Huma Abedin. Comey followed up days later with another letter, informing Congress that the FBI didn’t find anything and continued to believe Clinton’s practices were reckless but did not merit any criminal charges.
After Clinton’s loss, former President Bill Clinton blamed Comey for it. Hillary Clinton herself told CNN “I was on the way to winning until a combination of Jim Comey’s letter on October 28 and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me and got scared off.”
A senior white house official said that a replacement will be announced in the coming days. Some possible candidates include Ray Kelly, Chris Christie, David Clarke, Trey Gowdy. Ray Kelly has a 47 year career within the NYPD. He served as Police Commissioner from 1992 to 1994 and again from 2002 to 2013. Chris Christie is the current governor of New Jersey and is a former Republican-appointed United States attorney in New Jersey. David Clarke is currently serving his fourth full term as the sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, a position he has held since 2002. Trey Gowdy is a Replublican U.S. Respresentative for South Carolina and a former federal prosecutor. He led the House committee investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the Benghazi investigation.
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United Airlines has reached a settlement with Kentucky physician, Dr. David Dao, who was dragged off a plane at O’Hare International Airport in early April. The incident aboard Flight 3411 was captured on video by passengers on the plane and widely shared online around the world. It quickly became an international embarrassment for both the carrier and the city’s aviation department.
Dao’s attorney Thomas Demetrio, announced that a settlement had been reached, but terms were not disclosed. The airline released a written statement in response to the announcement: “We are pleased to report that United and Dr. Dao have reached an amicable resolution of the unfortunate incident that occurred aboard flight 3411. We look forward to implementing the improvements we have announced, which will put our customers at the center of everything we do.”
The airline unveiled new policies earlier in the same day the settlement was reached. Part of the new policies include a promise to not use law enforcement to remove overbooked customers from planes, additional training for front-line employees and setting up an automated system that will ask passengers at check-in if they would be willing to give up their seat. United CEO Oscar Munoz also pledged to reduce the amount of overbooking and offer up to $10,000 for customers willing to volunteer to take a later flight.
Dao’s attorney praised Munoz for agreeing to the settlement. “Mr. Munoz said he was going to do the right thing and he has. In addition, United has taken full responsibility for what happened on Flight 3411, without attempting to blame others, including the City of Chicago. For this acceptance of corporate accountability, United is to be applauded.”
Demetrio added “Dr. Dao has become the unintended champion for the adoption of changes which will certainly help improve the lives of literally millions of travelers. I sincerely hope that all other airlines make similar changes and follow United’s lead in helping to improve the passenger flying experience with an emphasis on empathy, patience, respect and dignity.”
Dr. Dao, 69, of Elizabethtown, Ky., was one of four passengers picked to be bumped from an April 9th flight from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Louisville, Ky., to make room for four airline employees who were added to the flight shortly before it departed. When he refused to leave, multiple Chicago Department of Aviation security officers were called to remove him.
According to a report released by the Chicago Department of Aviation, Officer James Long boarded the plane to respond to a disturbance involving two passengers who were refusing to leave the aircraft. When he approached Dao’s seat and asked him to leave, Long said Dao “folded his arms tightly” and refused to leave the aircraft. The officer said he was able to “hold” the physician in order to remove him from his window seat.
A struggle ensued between Dao and the officer in the isle of the aircraft. Dao, who was hospitalized in Chicago, suffered a concussion, a broken nose and lost two teeth in the ordeal. The viral video shows Dao being dragged by his arms down the aisle of the plane as other passengers watch in horror.
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In an effort to broaden the company’s “social interaction” with our clients and FaceBook fans, Daily Trivia Questions are posted on both of our business pages. Here are the weekly standings for this past week, and the winner of the Sunday night Weekly Drawing for an AmEx gift card!
Congratulations – To this past week’s Trivia Contest Winner!! Our latest contest winner for the weekly FaceBook HealthInsurance4Everyone/Health & Life Solutions, LLC Trivia Contest, drawn randomly by computer late Sunday evening, May 7th, 2017 was:
DEBORAH FARRIS
Dallas, TX
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx Gift Card
Each day, fans of either of our company FaceBook pages (HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions LLC) are able to test their skills with our Daily TRIVIA QUESTION. The first 20 winners who post the correct answer to the TRIVIA QUESTION, will then get entered into the weekly drawing held late on Sunday evenings for a $25.00 Am Ex Gift. Card
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:
5/01/17
Brittany Marie Thompson
Brandy Marie Williams
Nai Merri
Isis Sample
Jennifer Kinner
Anna Nichols
Dale Fish
Crystal Young
Kendra George
Judy Custer
Jennifer Sparks
Jenifer Garza
Michelle Cervantes
Heather Lynn Rood
Misty Shallcross
Deborah Farris
Paula Rousseau
Tonya Velazquez
Stephanie Beckwith
Jamie Nash Lewter
Nelle Bailey
Amy Cantrall-McDaniels
5/2/17
Jennifer Kinner
Crystal Young
Glenna Zanglio
Cheryl Hall
Lisa Puckett
Jodi Stevens
Tee Anderson
Karen Bondehagen
Jennifer Ramlet
Amber Cheras
Kelli Bryson
Stephanie Caldwell
Tonya Velazquez
Jakara Jackson
Kassi Krick-King
Michelle Hughes
Angela N Dustin Turner
Crystal Dougherty Merrill
Brandy Marie Williams
Alicia Dansby
5/3/17
Deborah Farris
Christy Hawkes
Jade Good
Jennifer Mason
Shona Johnson
Alexandria Fields
Derek Jennings
Paula Rousseau
Jennifer Saavedra
Jennifer Downing
Joanie Waterman
Mary Vantil
Jodi Stevens
Destiny Landsaw Davis
Melissa Barnes Walker
Crystal Hazelwood
Megan Rhyne
Tracy Shafer
Wendi Black
Trisha Musgrave
5/4/17
Deborah Farris
Sandra Sue Blanton
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Jennifer Mason
Kimberly Foster
Steve Hardy
Sandy Nevels
Jonnalyn Gates
Sheila Carvell
Kendra George
Adaria Johnson
Beth Mason
Alicia Dansby
Angelique Drummond
Sheila Vives
Brooke Scott
Debbie Jensen
Melinda Lee
Pamela Gonzalez
Kalyani Nam
5/5/17
Christine McKinnon
Andrea Timms
Kimberly Snyder
Cheryl Hall
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Megan Landor
Mary Achio
Megan Rhyne
Kevin James Anderson
Jakara Jackson
Shawna Poole
Christina Domingue
Tera Wardrip
Dean Bruss
Beata Tybor
Sheila Carvell
Valerie Kuehn
Jennifer Alice Duran
Nai Merri
JoBeth Butcher
5/6/17
Jonnalyn Gates
Joanie Waterman
Andrea Timms
Stephanie Beckwith
Valerie Kuehn
Kayte CookWatts
Brooke Scott
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Heather Lynn Rood
Nelle Bailey
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Derek Jennings
Angela N Dustin Turner
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Allyson Becker
Kimberly Snyder
Lauren Bradley
Christina Domingue
Tera Wardrip
Maria Bouchard
5/7/17
Karen Jaras
Cheryl Hall
Stephanie Caldwell
Traci Anderson
Jennifer Ramlet
Rebecca Fauteux
Deborah Farris
Dale Fish
Johanna Landsaw-Davis
Laura Moreland
Angela Hendricks
Leslie Wagner Hobson
Nitasha Shank
Kathleen Hickman
Beth Cleveland
Jennifer Lang
Roberta Thomas
Wendi Black
Sheila Carvell
Beata Tybor
Be sure to watch both of our FaceBook pages for your chance to win and enter again next week, with questions posted daily on HealthInsurance4Everyone or at Health & Life Solutions, LLC!! 
Remember that if you try your hand at answering the Trivia Question several days each week, your odds of winning the Sunday weekly drawing are much better. You may also find that if you “Like” both of the business pages, you will receive faster notifications of the other players as they post their answers to compete with you!
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At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us? Look us up on….
Twitter: Healthinsurane4 (Follow Us On Twitter To Receive Faster Notifications When Daily Trivia Questions Posted, & To Be Immediately Notified When Weekly AmEX & HI4Eshop Gift Card Winners Are Announced!!)
Click-On for LinkedIn To Follow Our Posts: LinkedIn 
Like us on facebook: HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions, LLC
Over 54,000 Combined Fans/Followers To Our Social Media Sites, & We’re Growing Daily!
Follow Mark Shuster, Founder/Owner at Health & Life Solutions, LLC for daily health tips!
Mark Shuster FaceBook Link
Follow our word press blog and read about everything from health insurance and reform news to healthy living and current events!
Company Blogs 
Find out more about LegalShield, our corporate partner which gives you the power to talk to an attorney about any legal issue, and offering high-quality Identity Theft plans.
LegalShield
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Relations between North Korea and the US and South Korea have rapidly deteriorated in recent months, as the rhetoric and military posturing on both sides has increased. North Korea has threatened to sink a U.S. aircraft carrier that is conducting military drills, along with Japanese ships, in the waters off the Korean Peninsula.
U.S. Aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain and guided-missile destroyers USS Michael Murphy and USS Wayne E Meyer have practiced for war with North Korea with a series of military drills. US allies South Korea and Japan surrounded North Korea with joint exercises on both sides of the Korean peninsula. The navy fleet is now within “striking range” of North Korea, in the Philippine Sea- just east of the Japanese island of Okinawa.
North Korea conducted its own military drills which involved 300 large-caliber self-propelled guns lined up along the coast where they opened fire with live rounds. A statement from the South Korean military said the live-fire exercises were in the Wonsan region in the east of the country. North Korea fired four ballistic missiles toward Japan as part of its exercise targeting US bases there.
Soon after those drills were conducted, the US began to deploy its advanced THAAD anti-missile defense system in South Korea, despite opposition from Russia and China. The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system came THAAD is a missile defense system designed to intercept short and medium-range ballistic missiles as they begin their descent to their targets. Developed by Lockheed Martin, THAAD missiles use infrared seeker technology to locate their targets and detonate on impact.
Both Russia and China have spoken out against the THAAD deployment. China’s Foreign Ministry stated that it was “resolutely opposed” to the move and say the missile system actually aims to counter China’s military power in the region, not to contain North Korea. The deployment also drew protests from hundreds of villagers in Seongju, South Korea, who clashed with police as troops began deploying THAAD hardware on a local golf course.
The Trump administration called the entire US Senate to a meeting at the White House, for a briefing on North Korea with the US secretaries of Defense and State. President Trump recently stated “North Korea is a big world problem, and it’s a problem we have to finally solve. People put blindfolds on for decades and now it’s time to solve the problem.” Many fear that Trump is backing himself into a corner with his firm stance on North Korea, leading both countries to a point where “bad things are going to happen.”
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In an effort to broaden the company’s “social interaction” with our clients and FaceBook fans, Daily Trivia Questions are posted on both of our business pages. Here are the weekly standings for this past week, and the winner of the Sunday night Weekly Drawing for an AmEx gift card!
Congratulations – To this past week’s Trivia Contest Winner!! Our latest contest winner for the weekly FaceBook HealthInsurance4Everyone/Health & Life Solutions, LLC Trivia Contest, drawn randomly by computer late Sunday evening, April 30th, 2017 was:
JENNIFER LANG
No. Miami Beach, FL
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx Gift Card
Each day, fans of either of our company FaceBook pages (HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions LLC) are able to test their skills with our Daily TRIVIA QUESTION. The first 20 winners who post the correct answer to the TRIVIA QUESTION, will then get entered into the weekly drawing held late on Sunday evenings for a $25.00 Am Ex Gift. Card
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:
4/24/17
Valerie Kuehn
Jodi Stevens
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Brandy Marie Williams
Kassi Krick-King
Samantha Mer
Jennifer Lang
Jennifer Zarafino-Griffiths
Myranda Medlin
Cheryl Hall
Amanda Saltsman
Melissa D’Ornellas Curtis
Holly Cajigas
Mary Vantil
Abigail Edwards
Megan Akins
Karen Goodwin Delaney
Leslie Wagner Hobson
Dawn Raasch
Karen Bondehagen
Susan Clarke Jette
4/25/17
Judy Custer
Joann Tompkins-Winborn
Jennifer Sparks
Valerie Kuehn
Jennifer Mason
Chrissy Kim
Carol Yemola
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Jakara Jackson
Lotorya Patrick
Crystal Hazelwood
Tina Marie
Alexandria Fields
Misty Shallcross
Nai Merri
Jonnalyn Gates
Anna Nichols
Holly Cajigas
Julie Garrett
Bea Patrick
4/26/17
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Michelle Cervantes
Joanie Waterman
Carol Scheive
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Dawn Raasch
Alexis Maureen
Jennifer Ramlet
Nitasha Shank
Karen Bondehagen
Christy Hawkes
Brandy Marie Williams
Kimberly Snyder
Kayla Clemons
Jennifer Lang
Geri Rus
Julie Garrett
Hollie Jahnke
Cheryl Hall
Megan Rhyne
Jennifer Downing
Angela Nicole
Jean Simmons Homfeld
4/27/17
Karen Bondehagen
Crystal Dougherty Merrill
Geraldlee Lee
Cheryl Hall
Hollie Jahnke
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Mary Achio
Paula Rivers
Stephanie Caldwell
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
Marie Beauregard
Melissa Barnes Walker
Anne Hanson
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Amanda Kyrie’ Ayala
Leslie Wagner Hobson
Phyllis Hines
Jakara Jackson
Shelley Ann Peoples
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Misty Dawn Moores
Dale Fish
Anggie Marie
4/28/17
Cheryl Hall
Brittany Marie Thompson
Lotorya Patrick
Mary Perez Ramz
Nai Merri
Mary Ann Cody
Lauren Bradley
Sherri Kidwell
Bea Patrick
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Melissa Barnes Walker
Michelle Hughes
Leslie Wagner Hobson
Tina Marie
Alexandria Fields
Allison Frederick
Karen Rimiller Presley
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
Marcy Coull
Kathleen Hickman
Tonya Velazquez
4/29/17
Christine McKinnon
Karen Bondehagen
Beata Tybor
Kathleen Hickman
Amanda Saltsman
Tonya Velazquez
Brittany Marie Thompson
Juanita Williams-Jones
Karen Goodwin Delaney
Holly Cajigas
Brittany Deaver
Nelle Bailey
Christina Montes
Misty Dawn Moores
Jacqlyn Gummert
Nikki Bankert
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Hollie Jahnke
Trish Marks
Bobbie J Rittenhouse
Phyllis Hines
4/30/17
Tina Marie
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Deborah Farris
Jennifer Kinner
Valerie Kuehn
Jennifer Ramlet
Michelle R. Carlino
Althea Thomas
Jennifer Alice Duran
Mary Vantil
Kayla Clemons
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Hollie Jahnke
Sherri Kidwell
Christy Hawkes
Jade Good
Jennifer Downing
Phyllis Hines
Wendi Black
Crystal Hazelwood
Be sure to watch both of our FaceBook pages for your chance to win and enter again next week, with questions posted daily on HealthInsurance4Everyone or at Health & Life Solutions, LLC!!
Remember that if you try your hand at answering the Trivia Question several days each week, your odds of winning the Sunday weekly drawing are much better. You may also find that if you “Like” both of the business pages, you will receive faster notifications of the other players as they post their answers to compete with you!
—————————————————————-
At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us? Look us up on….
Twitter: Healthinsurane4 (Follow Us On Twitter To Receive Faster Notifications When Daily Trivia Questions Posted, & To Be Immediately Notified When Weekly AmEX & HI4Eshop Gift Card Winners Are Announced!!)
Click-On for LinkedIn To Follow Our Posts: LinkedIn
Like us on facebook: HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions, LLC
Over 54,000 Combined Fans/Followers To Our Social Media Sites, & We’re Growing Daily!
Follow Mark Shuster, Founder/Owner at Health & Life Solutions, LLC for daily health tips!
Mark Shuster FaceBook Link
Follow our word press blog and read about everything from health insurance and reform news to healthy living and current events! 
Company Blogs
Find out more about 
our corporate partner which gives you the power to talk to an attorney about any legal issue, and offering high-quality Identity Theft plans.
LegalShield
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United Airlines is facing backlash after a videos went viral of a doctor who was assaulted before being forcibly dragged off the plane, after he refused to give up his paid seat. The backlash against United sparked boycotts and dropped hundreds of millions of dollars from the company’s stock price.
Dr. David Dao was left bleeding and disoriented, after being forcefully pulled across the seat dividers and dragged down the aisle of the plane as shocked passengers looked on with several expressing disbelief on the incident as it was happening.
Dao, 69, of Elizabethtown, Ky., was one of four passengers picked to be bumped from an April 9 flight from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Louisville, Ky., to make room for airline employees who were added to the flight shortly before it departed.
According to another passenger on Flight 3411 from Chicago to Kentucky, the airline needed seats on the fully booked aircraft to reposition four crew members for another flight. The crew announced that the plane could not take off until four passengers voluntarily deplaned. When it didn’t have enough volunteers, even after offering $800 and a next day flight, the airline selected the man and several other passengers to deplane.
When he refused to leave, saying he had to see patients at a hospital in Kentucky early the following morning, multiple Chicago Department of Aviation security officers dragged Dao through the aisle, bloodying him. Dao then tried to run back on the flight and was forcibly removed a second time.
United CEO Oscar Muñoz initially defended the company’s actions but later apologized, calling the incident “horrific.” United Airlines said it will fully refund the tickets of all passengers on board the flight. Chicago’s Aviation Department has said that four officers involved in the beating had been placed on leave.
Dao, who was hospitalized in Chicago, suffered a concussion, a broken nose and lost two teeth in the ordeal. In preparation for a civil suit, lawyers for Dr. Dao filed an emergency request requiring United and the city to preserve records of the incident and the personnel files of the Aviation Department officers who pulled Dao from the plane.
The airline has said it is reviewing its policies regarding oversold flights. They already announced that they will require United employees traveling for work to book seats at least an hour in advance to avoid displacing customers already on board an aircraft.
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In an escalating dispute over the death penalty cases in Florida, Governor Rick Scott has removed Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala from 21 more cases from District 9 to a special prosecutor. The governor’s spokeswoman said in a statement “State Attorney Ayala’s complete refusal to consider capital punishment for the entirety of her term sends an unacceptable message that she is not interested in considering every available option in the fight for justice,” Ayala’s office, in response, is saying Scott blindsided her and is calling the decision an abuse of power.
All of the cases removed from Ayala have been reassigned to State Attorney Brad King. Ayala has filed a motion in state circuit court indicating her intent to challenge Scott’s decision and disputing the governor’s authority to remove her simply because he disagrees with her valid exercise of prosecutorial discretion.
Ayala, an elected prosecutor in central Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit, took office in January, to begin a four-year term. In March, Ayala announced she would no longer seek the death penalty in any murder cases, including in the case of Markeith Loyd, who’s accused of murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend and then Orlando police officer Debra Clayton. Scott removed Ayala from that case shortly after.
Her decision sparked an outcry with many Republican leaders claiming Ayala violated her oath of office by taking the death penalty off the table. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi called Ayala’s move “a blatant neglect of duty and a shameful failure to follow the law,” while members of the state legislature threatened to reduce her office’s funding.
There were also some who backed Ayala’s decision including more than 100 judges, former prosecutors and legal experts who have expressed their support for Ayala, saying Scott has overstepped his legal authority by removing her from cases, and saying she has the legal discretion to not seek the death penalty.
Capital punishment remains legal in 31 states, but death penalty sentences have dropped dramatically over the past few decades. Of the nation’s 2,300 prosecutors, only 27 sentenced a person to death last year. Capital punishment in Florida has been on hold since Jan. 12 when the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the state’s sentencing system as a violation of a defendant’s right to a jury trial. Florida’s old law allowed a jury to recommend the death penalty by a simple majority vote. Every other state with the death penalty except for Delaware requires juries to be unanimous in recommending a sentence of death.
In March, Governor Scott attempted to restart executions last month by signing a bill which took effect immediately-that requires jury recommendations to be unanimous before a death penalty can be imposed by a judge. After signing the legislature, Scott said he hopes that executions could soon resume in Florida. “My foremost concern is always for the victims and their loved ones,” Scott’s statement said. “I hope this legislation will allow families of these horrific crimes to get the closure they deserve.”
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U.S. District Court Judge David Hale in Louisville, Kentucky, has ruled that a lawsuit accusing Donald Trump of inciting violence against protesters at a presidential campaign rally last year can move forward, denying a free speech argument against the suit.
The ruling opens the way for the lawsuit brought by three protesters to proceed through the legal system. The suit is against Trump, his campaign and three of his supporters. Trump’s lawyers had argued a free speech defense against the lawsuit, arguing that Trump did not intend for his supporters to use force.
Kentucky federal Judge David Hale said he found ample facts supporting the allegations that the protesters’ injuries were a ”direct and proximate result” of Trump’s actions. He wrote that “it is plausible that Trump’s direction to ‘get ‘em out of here’ advocated the use of force. … It was an order, an instruction, a command.” The protesters- two women and a teenage boy, were at the Kentucky International Convention Center.
Plaintiffs Henry Brousseau, Kashiya Nwanguma and Molly Shah say they were assaulted by Trump supporters at the March 2016 rally in Louisville as Trump repeatedly said “Get ‘em out.” The trio are suing Trump and his campaign for incitement to riot, negligence, as well as gross negligence and recklessness. They are seeking unspecified damages.
The attackers named in the lawsuit include Matthew Heimbach, a member of a white supremacist group, and Alvin Bamberger, a member of the Korean War Veterans Association in Ohio. A third defendant has not been identified. In a video of the incident that went viral shortly after it happened, Heimbach and Bamberger are seen pushing Nwanguma down an aisle as Trump repeatedly says “Get ‘em out, Get ‘em out of here!”
Hale said the removal of Nwanguma, an African American woman, was “particularly reckless.” The judge did not remove allegations that Nwanguma was the victim of racial, ethnic and sexist slurs from the rally crowd. He wrote, “While the words themselves are repulsive, they are relevant to show the atmosphere in which the alleged events occurred.”
The judge dismissed part of the suit claiming that Trump and his campaign were “vicariously liable” for assault and battery. Hale said that the men accused of attacking the protesters were not employed by the Trump campaign, nor were they under Trump’s direct control.
Alvin Bamberger, said in a letter cited by the judge: “Trump kept saying, ‘get them out, get them out,’ and people in the crowd began pushing and shoving the protesters. I physically pushed a young woman.”
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Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye was arrested on charges related to the bribery scandal that led to her impeachment. Park faces 13 charges in total, including bribery, abuse of power and the leaking of state secrets. She has not been formally indicted yet but prosecutors can detain her for up to 20 days before formally charging her.
Park was removed from office March 10th, stripping her of presidential immunity after South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld a decision to impeach her for alleged corruption.
The scandal has dominated the headlines in South Korea since late last year and sparked mass protests, many calling for her impeachment. The controversy centered around Park’s friend and close adviser, Choi Soon-sil, who is alleged to have had significant and inappropriate influence over the former president. Choi is on trial for abuse of power and fraud.
Among other accusations, Park is accused of helping extort some $38 million from Samsung and a total of $70 million from South Korean companies for the private slush fund of her friend and confidant Choi Soon-sil. Park is also accused to leaking state secrets to Choi. Lee Jae-yong, the former head of Samsung is also being held in connection to the same corruption scandal. Lee is accused of approving the millions in bribes to Choi.
The former president continued to deny all wrongdoing during a 14-hour interrogation last week, leading prosecutors to ask for a warrant for her arrest. They said they were concerned Park would destroy evidence if she remained at large. The 65-year-old former president was taken to a detention center outside Seoul, the same detention center where Choi Soon-Sil and Lee Jae-yong, the de facto head of Samsung are both being held. If convicted, Park could face up to 10 years in prison.
Park becomes the third former president in South Korean history to face the possibility of a prison sentence. Two other former leaders, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, were charged with improperly collecting millions from businesses while in office. Both were later pardoned after short jail stints.
Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office released a statement regarding the arrest. “The suspect abused the mighty power and position as President to take bribes from companies and infringed upon the freedom of corporate management and leaked important confidential official information.”
Park Geun-hye was the nation’s first female president and the daughter of the former president Park Chung-hee. Park’s mother was killed in 1974 in an assassination attempt that targeted her husband. Park was regarded as First Lady after her mother’s death. Park’s father, Chung-hee, was gunned down by his own intelligence chief in 1979. After her father’s killing, Park Geun-hye left the presidential Blue House and secluded herself from the public eye. She entered politics in the late 1990s — when public nostalgia for her father emerged after the country’s economy was hit hard by the Asian financial crisis.
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