Complaint filed over Goya endorsement

WASHINGTON -- A group has filed a complaint with the Office of Government Ethics over Ivanka Trump's social media endorsement of Goya Foods Inc., saying the photo violated government rules.

President Donald Trump's daughter, a senior White House adviser, posted a photo of herself holding a can of the company's black beans after some liberal groups called for a boycott of the company's products because Goya Chief Executive Officer Robert Unanue said last week that the country was "truly blessed" to have Trump as its leader.

Ivanka Trump's post was a violation of federal ethics regulations prohibiting employees from endorsing "any product, service or enterprise," the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington argued in its complaint, which was released on Friday.

The group previously raised concern over White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, who endorsed Ivanka Trump's clothing line during remarks in the White House briefing room.

"This is not just about beans; it's another example of a disturbing pattern of this administration acting to benefit the businesses of the president's supporters," Noah Bookbinder, executive director of the ethics group, said.

The White House has said it's not worried about ethics concerns raised by the incident.

"This tweet was made in her personal capacity voicing her personal support," White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement. "This complaint is another politically-motivated, baseless attack from an organization with a vendetta against all of the administration."

Rep. Amash won't run for reelection

LANSING, Mich. -- U.S. Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, a former Republican who backed the impeachment of President Donald Trump, is officially not running for reelection.

Amash had suspended his congressional campaign in February and later explored seeking the Libertarian Party's nomination for president. Thursday was Michigan's deadline to run as an independent, though some were also holding out hope he might seek the Libertarians' nomination at a state convention Saturday.

"I love representing our community in Congress. I always will," Amash tweeted. "This is my choice, but I'm still going to miss it."

Amash, 40, initially became an independent a year ago after becoming disenchanted with partisan politics and being the lone House Republican to support an impeachment inquiry. He was one of the founding members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

He has represented Michigan's 3rd Congressional District in the western part of the state since 2011.

Data: Felony pot arrests down in state

LOS ANGELES -- The number of felony marijuana arrests in California continued to decline in 2019 in the age of legalization, but another trend remained unchanged: those arrests fell disproportionately on Hispanics and Blacks, state data showed.

The California Department of Justice, in an annual snapshot of crime rates in the nation's most populous state released earlier this month, said there were 1,181 felony cannabis arrests last year, down from 1,617 in 2018, the first year of broad legalization. That represents a 27% decline.

According to a breakdown of demographic data, Hispanics accounted for nearly 42% of those arrests, followed by Blacks, at 22%, with whites at 21%. Other groups accounted for the remainder.

The overall number of arrests declined last year, but "the harassment went up," Donnie Anderson, co-founder of the cannabis trade group California Minority Alliance, said in an email.

Ellen Komp, deputy director of the California arm of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, known as NORML, said Thursday that the figures point to the difficulty many Hispanics and Blacks have had entering the legal market, which comes with hefty investment costs, taxes and regulatory fees.

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Fund to aid struggling literary groups

NEW YORK -- Using a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, three major literary arts nonprofits have teamed to administer $3.5 million for organizations struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.

Along with the Mellon foundation, the Academy of American Poets, the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses and the National Book Foundation announced Friday that they had formed the Literary Arts Emergency Fund. The nonprofits will distribute one-time grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000, with the application process running from Friday through Aug. 7.

The fund's administrators noted a recent survey by the nonprofit Americans for the Arts that found 253 literary organizations had reported losses of more than $7.2 million because of the virus, often because of canceled events, such as writers unable to go into classrooms or attend festivals, as well as a drop in fellowships.

"Many of these organizations are small, wondering what's going top happen to them and what it feels like when there seems no help is coming," National Book Foundation Executive Director Lisa Lucas said

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