Happy Labor Day, Law Street readers. While enjoying a hopefully relaxing day, check out our top stories of the week.

1. Joe Scarborough Makes Awesome and Bizarre #AmnestyDon Music Video

Joe Scarborough, one of the hosts of the show “Morning Joe” really hates Donald Trump. Scarborough has slammed Trump on multiple occasions, beginning earlier this year, but seems to really have hit his stride with Trump-bashing this week. In honor of Trump’s constant nicknaming of his political opponents, Scarborough has given Trump a moniker of his own: #AmnestyDon. Read the full story here.

2. Impeachment Deliberations Begin for Brazil’s President, Vote Due Next Week

As the world’s attention recedes from Rio de Janeiro–which hosted the Olympic games earlier this month–Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff is one step closer to being pushed out of office for good. On Thursday, Brazil’s Senate began deliberations regarding her permanent impeachment. A final vote will take place next week. Rousseff, 68, is currently serving an 180-day suspension, resulting from a Senate vote in May. Read the full story here.

3. Chip Cards: Making Credit Cards Safe Again?

By now, most people have become familiar with the additional hoop they have to jump through when buying things at the store. When you get to the checkout counter you do an awkward dance: do I swipe my credit card, do I put it into the chip reader, do I need my PIN, can I pay with my phone? The United States is currently in the middle of an update to its credit card infrastructure, an update that has been difficult for many consumers to navigate. What’s behind the recent changes and why have they just started now? Read the full story here.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Brazil’s Senate voted on Wednesday to remove President Dilma Rousseff from office–an expected but nonetheless historic result, given that Rousseff was Brazil’s first female president.

Rousseff is accused of corruption and breaking fiscal laws, which her critics say aggravated the already bad economic situation in Brazil. Rousseff has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing ever since she was suspended from office in May this year. In the Senate, 61 voted for her impeachment on Wednesday, and 20 against. Upon hearing the result, she said, “Today is the day that 61 men, many of them charged and corrupt, threw 54 million Brazilian votes in the garbage.”

During the hearing she also said:

I’m here to look in your eyes and say with the serenity of someone who has nothing to hide that I haven’t committed any crimes of responsibility. I have not committed the crimes of which I have been unjustly and arbitrarily accused.

Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s 1st woman president, permanently removed after impeachment: https://t.co/8SwnwTvxn0 pic.twitter.com/iqL5fiUd2r

— Women in the World (@WomenintheWorld) August 31, 2016

This means the end of a 13 year-long rule of the left-wing Worker’s Party, and the end for the country’s first female President. Rousseff, 68, used to be a guerilla fighter during the dictatorship in the 1970s. She was elected in 2011, and then reelected in 2014. At the time, the country’s economy was in  really bad shape, and she did not manage to fix it. Even though she stands accused of further ruining the economy and corruption, she has never been formally charged with a crime.

Rousseff claims she has been ousted because she allowed a corruption investigation to go on, which lead to several politicians being charged. So the question is whether she is actually guilty of a crime, or if the opposition just wanted to get rid of a leader who drained the country’s economy.

In a second vote on Wednesday, the Senate decided whether or not to ban Rousseff from public office for the next eight years. This time the majority voted no, with 42 votes against and 36 for, meaning she could technically return to politics whenever she wants.

Acting President Michel Temer will take Rousseff’s place until the next election in 2018.

Rousseff’s parting words to her supporters were, “Right now, I will not say goodbye to you. I am certain I can say: ‘See you soon.’”

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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As the world’s attention recedes from Rio de Janeiro–which hosted the Olympic games earlier this month–Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff is one step closer to being pushed out of office for good. On Thursday, Brazil’s Senate began deliberations regarding her permanent impeachment. A final vote will take place next week. Rousseff, 68, is currently serving an 180-day suspension, resulting from a Senate vote in May.

In April, Brazil’s lower house of parliament, the House of Deputies, passed the impeachment measure by a wide margin. If two-thirds of the Senate votes for her impeachment next week, Rousseff will permanently lose her place at the top of Brazil’s government.

The impeachment proceedings date back to Rousseff’s 2014 re-election bid. She had just been re-elected, and Brazil’s economy, after years of growth, was in the tank. Her opponents accused her of tampering with the country’s economic reports in an attempt to glaze over its bleak economic reality, including record-high unemployment, widespread corruption, and meager growth.

Around the same time, members of her Workers’ Party were brought down for participating in a pay-for-contract scheme with the state-owned petroleum conglomerate, Petrobras. Some of her political opponents accuse Rousseff of being involved in that as well, but the impeachment measure was separate, brought about due to her mishandling of economic reports.

Rousseff’s Vice President Michel Temer took over her duties during her suspension, and if the Senate votes to impeach her, Temer will serve out the remainder of Rousseff’s term through 2018. Rousseff, who accuses her political detractors of engaging in a “coup,” is set to address the Senate on Monday. Rousseff maintains her innocence, but her political allies have been falling in recent months, leaving her with few supporters in parliament. Many of Brazil’s lawmakers are themselves embroiled in corruption scandals: graft, electoral fraud, and human rights abuses.

And where do the Brazilian people stand? Recent polling data suggests most of the populace support Rousseff’s impeachment, with most citing the sinking economy, which is experiencing its slowest growth in decades.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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