Family of 42-year-old said they met with Elizabeth City sheriff but were not shown body-camera footage of his deathAfter seven North Carolina deputies were placed on leave over the death of Andrew Brown Jr, an African American man shot during the serving of a drug-related warrant, authorities in Elizabeth City added to calls for body camera footage to be released.Related: Andrew Brown shooting: family describe him as a loving father with a sense of humor Continue reading...
New York congresswoman says at virtual town hall ‘I think a lot of us expected a much more conservative administration’Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez saluted the Biden administration on Friday, saying the new president had exceeded progressives’ expectations in his first 100 days in the White House.“The Biden administration and President Biden have definitely exceeded expectations that progressives had,” the New York congresswoman, a star on the left of the Democratic party, told a virtual town hall meeting. “I think a lot of us expected a much more conservative administration.” Continue reading...
The man who wept angrily when people judged him for his past appears not to want others to have the opportunity to changeLet me tell you a tale of two Bretts. The first is supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh. In 2018 Kavanaugh was credibly accused of committing sexual assault when he was a 17-year-old; a culture war promptly broke out. Liberals largely argued that the accusations should preclude Kavanaugh from a lifetime appointment on the supreme court. The right, meanwhile, cried “cancel culture”. Even if Kavanaugh was guilty of what he was being accused of, they argued, what you did as a teenager shouldn’t ruin the rest of your life. Continue reading...
Kay Ivey signed legislation which said a public K-12 school ‘may never allow a biological male to participate on a female team’Alabama has become the latest conservative US state to ban transgender girls from playing on female school sports teams.Related: Arkansas is first state to ban gender-affirming treatments for trans youth Continue reading...
Singer-songwriter Sia picks up three Golden Raspberry Awards for her controversial film on autismThe former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, has been awarded a Razzie for one of the year’s worst performances for his unwitting appearance in Sacha Baron Cohen’s sequel to Borat.The Golden Raspberry Awards, colloquially known as Razzies, are an annual prize for Hollywood’s lowlights, taking place the day before the lavish Oscars ceremony. Continue reading...
Close friends and family will remember the Grammy-nominated musician at a private ceremony at the Barclays Center, New YorkThe rapper DMX will be mourned at a memorial with family and close friends at the Barclays Center in New York.The memorial will be held for him at the Brooklyn arena on Saturday at 4pm EST (9pm BST). The event will be closed to the public and restricted to only close friends and family due to pandemic restrictions. Continue reading...
Influencers are not organizers yet. But they might soon beGen Z is the most online generation in history. They also have increasingly radical political views that aren’t always reflected in traditional media. It’s no surprise that online influencers – who run highly popular social media channels – are dominating political discourse in Gen Z’s online spaces.Young people’s politics are being shaped by popular YouTubers, livestreamers, podcasters and other influencer personalities, who debate political positions and educate viewers on what political engagement looks like. As audiences grow and watch times increase, the question inevitably arises: will the influencers of the burgeoning alt-media sphere become a new type of political organizer? Continue reading...
The state has the lowest US gun death rats, and John Rosenthal says mass shootings won’t stop without real national actionIn 2020, even as many Americans remained cloistered in their homes under the pandemic, 19,380 died from gunshots – more than in any other year.Related: California officer charged in previous shooting kills Black man at intersection, video shows Continue reading...
Eleven months ago, I delivered the eulogy for George Floyd. It grieves me that I am returning to do the same for Daunte WrightThe entire world was on edge, patiently waiting for the verdict in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin. On Tuesday, the jury returned a guilty verdict on all three counts after deliberating for about 10 hours over two days. Chauvin was convicted of second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.Related: Officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright charged with manslaughter Continue reading...
The guilty verdict in the case of George Floyd’s murder felt to some like a weight lifted off but for many highlighted the need for radical police reformLike so many, I immediately felt relieved. I’d been sitting in my office for three weeks, refreshing the news coverage, and on that final day I had a knot in my stomach that only got bigger the closer they came to announcing the verdict. I supported defunding the police, in the sense that money would be moved away from police departments toward other social programs and offices, but not do away with traditional policing as a whole. The recent shootings of Daunte Wright and Ma’Khia Bryant have me leaning more towards abolition. Continue reading...
As the experience of Portland shows, federal intervention in city policing shows real reform is far from guaranteedSeven years ago, the city of Portland, Oregon was forced to admit that its police officers were shooting too many unarmed people, and it agreed to a program of reform under the oversight of a federal judge.Last month, the US justice department declared Portland police were failing to comply with the agreement after its officers used excessive force against demonstrators – including firing impact munitions against people suspected of having “furtive” conversations – following the death of George Floyd. Continue reading...
Bones of children who died in 1985 police bombing used in anthropology course – but some bones now appear to be missingTwo Ivy League institutions, the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton, are facing mounting demands to apologise and make restitution for their handling over decades of the bones of African American children killed by Philadelphia police in 1985.Related: Bones of Black children killed in police bombing used in Ivy League anthropology course Continue reading...
The Derek Chauvin verdict is cathartic, but tackling racial inequality requires a radical rethink of criminal justiceAt last year’s Conservative party conference, while the largest anti-racism protests in Britain’s history were taking place across the country, the former home secretary, Sajid Javid, declared that Black Lives Matter is “not a force for good”. This week, following the outcome of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd, Javid tweeted triumphantly: “Black lives matter”.Although this about-turn may seem counterintuitive, it’s perfectly consistent with the government’s position on racism. Rather than reflecting on the demands for systemic change made by Black Lives Matter protesters, Britain’s political class has championed the role of the courts in punishing individual perpetrators of racial violence. Similar celebrations took place when the killers of Stephen Lawrence were eventually found guilty of murder, even though the Police Federation remained in denial about the institutional racism that characterised its response to his death. Viewed from the perspective that racism is an issue of a few bad apples rather than a structural or institutional problem, the single guilty verdict of an individual police officer in the US is something to celebrate. But can criminal prosecutions and prisons ever really deliver racial justice? Continue reading...
The killing of Robert Douglas Delgado last week came after months of protests against police violence in the cityPolice in Portland this week released an audio recording documenting the conversation between officers and dispatchers immediately before and after the fatal shooting of a homeless man in a city park on Friday.The recording includes the initial report that a man, later identified as 46-year-old Robert Douglas Delgado, was brandishing a handgun in Lents Park, deep in the Oregon city’s south-east quadrant. It documents erratic behavior on Delgado’s part, suggesting the mental health crisis that he was later reported to be in. And it also prominently features the commentary of Zachary Delong, a long-serving officer and combat veteran who killed Delgado with a single shot. Continue reading...
In March, 495,000 women entered the labor force, but the figures betray the harsher economic situation for Black women and many have dropped out altogetherWomen were hit hardest when the Covid-19 pandemic started taking its terrible toll on the job market. Last month there were promising gains for women in the workforce but it’s still too early to declare the end of the “shecession”.The pandemic’s arrival hit the women-dominated leisure, hospitality and retail industries first and hardest as the nation went into lockdown. As job losses hit record highs the US recorded another sorry first – the first recession in which women lost the most jobs. Continue reading...
The US president’s wife broke new ground by continuing to teach but her early priorities of vaccinations, community college and military families are more traditional“It doesn’t hurt, I promise.” Jill Biden’s words of reassurance were offered to a woman at a vaccination clinic in New Mexico. “Normally I’m scared of them! Let me tell you, it’s so fast. Are you a little scared?”When the woman nodded yes, the masked first lady walked across the room to stand with her. And when the woman averted her eyes from the needle, Jill consoled: “I can’t look either. Just look at me. It doesn’t hurt. Really.” Continue reading...
After a Hollywood reckoning over long-existing stereotypes of small-screen police, the industry is slowly trying to make a change but is it a genre that should be saved?There’s a moment of police harassment in the pilot of ABC’s cop drama The Rookie, which premiered in fall 2018, that’s so tangential to the plot you could easily miss it.Three Mexican gardeners honk at the cruiser of an abrasive training officer, who then berates the gardeners as a “test” of his rookie trainee on her first day. The three mostly mute Mexican men are accessories to this characterization of the tough-guy officer and his flustered trainee, as the effect of the harassment on their lives goes unexplored – until a third season episode from earlier this year, in which the trainee asks the officer to imagine how the gardeners felt about the “terrorizing” encounter that, for them, was not a test. His admission that he “used” the gardeners is a startling example of on-air revision: a main character acknowledging a personal failure that is also the show’s failure to consider that the minority characters – in real life, the policed – were used to positively characterize its police officers. Continue reading...
Former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein appears in blue scrubs in court in Manhattan, and pleads not guilty to sex-trafficking chargesWhen Ghislaine Maxwell appeared in Manhattan federal court on Friday, her appearance was a far cry from that of the jet-setter who once socialised with the rich and powerful.Related: Judge rejects Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid to dismiss charges that she recruited girls Continue reading...
Body-camera footage shows Andrew Hall fatally shooting Tyrell Wilson less than two years after killing Laudemer ArboledaA white sheriff’s deputy in the San Francisco Bay Area shot and killed a Black man in the middle of a busy intersection about a minute after trying to stop him on suspicion of throwing rocks at cars last month, newly released video showed.The graphic body-camera footage shows Andrew Hall shooting Tyrell Wilson, 33, within seconds of asking him to drop a knife on 11 March in Danville. Continue reading...
Ron Johnson, who has no medical expertise or background, made comments during interview with conservative talk radio hostThe Republican senator Ron Johnson, of Wisconsin, questioned the need for widespread Covid-19 vaccinations, saying in a radio interview “what do you care if your neighbor has one or not?”Johnson, who has no medical expertise or background, made the comments on Thursday during an interview with the conservative talk radio host Vicki McKenna. Contrary to what medical experts advise, Johnson has said he doesn’t need to be vaccinated because he had Covid-19 in the fall. On Thursday, he went further, questioning why anyone would get vaccinated or worry about why others have not. Continue reading...
It was baseball commentator Geoff Haxton who pulled off a spectacular play during Texas Tech's game against West Virginia. Barely breaking his flow, the play-by-play announcer made a remarkable one-handed catch when a foul ball popped up directly into his booth Continue reading...
Courtney Wilson and Shenita Jones planned their wedding at their ‘dream home and estate’. The only problem? It wasn’t theirsAn ambitious Florida couple attempted to hold their two-day wedding celebration at a mansion they didn’t have permission to use. But their intended nuptials ended before they could begin as the owner called the police and turned the wedding party away at the gate.Courtney Wilson, the groom, and Shenita Jones, the bride, sent elaborate invitations to family and friends to attend their wedding at their “dream home and estate”, with the ceremony on Saturday, brunch on Sunday. But they never got permission from the owner, Nathan Finkel, to hold the event there, NBC affiliate WTVJ in Miami reported. Continue reading...
Relatives of Isaiah Brown, who is in intensive care, say they haven’t been given a reason why deputy opened fireThe family of a Black man shot by a Virginia sheriff’s deputy this week says he is in intensive care with 10 bullet wounds, and they have no idea why.Relatives of Isaiah Brown, 32, spoke with Washington TV station WRC about the shooting, which happened outside their home in Spotsylvania county early on Wednesday. Continue reading...
The alleged Dominic Cummings leaks may just be a distraction from the bigger issue: we’re led by a man with no self-discipline and a very busy phoneIncredible that Boris Johnson’s craziest ex is not actually someone he’s had sex with. When you think of the sheer volume of fatal attractions that must be stored in the prime minister’s phone under decoy names like “James Dyson” and “Mohammed bin Salman”, it seems extraordinary that the biggest bunny-boiler is alleged to be ex-spad Dominic Cummings.Anyway, speaking of Fatal Attraction, you’ll have seen the news that undead Cummings is rearing back out of the bath again like Glenn Close, except wearing trackie bums and a T-shirt reading “My girlfriend – YES I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND – went to Los Alamos National Laboratory and all she got me was this lousy T-shirt”. Continue reading...
Rice, who served as secretary of state for former president from 2005 to 2009, told Bush ‘she would refuse to accept the office’Former president George W Bush revealed in an interview with People magazine that he didn’t vote for either the Republican incumbent Donald Trump or Democrat Joe Biden in the November 2020 presidential election. Instead, he wrote in Condoleezza Rice.Rice, who served as secretary of state for Bush from 2005 to 2009, was aware of the write-in. But, “She told me she would refuse to accept the office,” Bush shared. Continue reading...
A New Hampshire family’s gender reveal party set off reports of an earthquake, and could be heard from across the state line, police said.The source of the blast was 80lbs (36kg) of Tannerite, which is typically sold over the counter as a target for firearms practice, according to officials.Sara Taglieri, a resident, said 'of all of the blasts I have experienced, nothing was as loud' as the explosion on Tuesday evening
At a virtual climate summit, Biden called on 40 world leaders to ‘overcome the existential crisis of our time’. Plus, the US Postal Service is reportedly monitoring social media postsGood morning.Joe Biden called on world leaders to “overcome the existential crisis of our time” at a virtual White House summit on the climate crisis yesterday, as he attempted to re-establish US leadership on the subject after the Trump era. Continue reading...
by Jiquanda Johnson in Flint, Michigan on (#5GZ5P)
Covid cases are surging, forcing community leaders to rethink strategies to reduce vaccine misinformation and barriersNearly a dozen people sit in on a Zoom call on a Wednesday afternoon for what they call a “publications” meeting – one similar to many others held daily in Flint, Michigan, as community partners collaborate for the sake of public health.In essence, it’s a meeting bringing organizations together to help strategize on how to get the word out about Covid-19 vaccinations. Continue reading...
Fighting climate change may be the most important task we face today – and the US’s renewed commitment to it is welcomeNearly three decades ago, during the Earth Summit held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, the international community acknowledged the need to address the growing challenges posed by the state of the environment. Several resolutions and agreements emerged from that historic conference, among them the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The ultimate goal of this multilateral initiative has been to prevent unchecked, runaway climate change from harming natural ecosystems, threatening food production or hindering sustainable development. In short, to preserve the world as we know it.For three decades, countries – or parties, as they are known under the convention – have debated and deliberated on the mounting threat posed by human activities to the stability of the climate system and, consequently, to the future of our planet. Progress has been slow, often disappointingly so. But there have been major achievements, such as the Kyoto protocol in 1992 and, most significantly, the 2016 Paris agreement, which constitute landmarks in the development of an international regime that protects the climate. Continue reading...
Glenda Brown Thomas has paid tribute to her nephew, Andrew Brown, a day after the 42-year-old was shot dead by police in North Carolina. “He had a good laugh, a nice smile. And he had good dimples ... He did not finish school, but he did encourage his children to get a good education," she said.Brown, from Elizabeth City, was shot and killed on Wednesday by a deputy sheriff trying to serve a search warrant. An witness said Brown tried to drive away, but was shot dead in his car
I know from personal experience that protest has its costs. But by banding together we can stop those who would subvert democracyAthletes, politicians and even corporate America have been speaking out about the recent Republican-led legislation in Georgia that seems to target Black citizens by making it harder for them to vote. But for all the sabre-rattling, finger-wagging and stern letter-writing, it was Major League Baseball who actually took direct action on 2 April by moving their All-Star Game from Georgia to Colorado, stating, “Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box.” Republican senators Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and Mike Lee – three of Donald Trump’s most notorious sock puppets – immediately tried to punish the league’s defense of democracy by proposing legislation to remove MLB’s antitrust exemption. Didn’t work. But their unspoken threat to all professional sports leagues who may wish to join the fray loomed large.After years of bullying their athletes for their passive protests, most sports teams became “woke” following last summer’s massive Black Lives Matter marches of between 15 and 26 million people, the largest protests in US history. It was a glorious phoenix-like ascension of sports leagues to the heights of social morality. Today, we need that commitment more than ever, because if there were ever a case of Black lives not mattering, it’s the nearly 250 laws since the November election that have been passed around the country designed to marginalize Black voters. It’s time for all sports leagues – who are supposed to embody the American ideals of teamwork, fair play and level playing fields – to join as one voice to represent their players, their fans and their Constitution in stopping this attempt to steal democracy. Continue reading...
The Florida tight end’s physical talents are off the charts. But his style of play also complements the tactical changes of the modern NFLAs athletes have become bigger, faster and stronger, the term “unicorn” has become deeply rooted in the sports lexicon.In fact, it’s now chucked around with such ease that it’s in danger of losing all meaning. The unicorns are supposed to be the one-offs. The physical “freaks”. The world-class athletes who do things that other world-class athletes can only dream about. Continue reading...
Transport operator’s shares rose 10% as it announces plans to focus on UK bus and railFirstGroup has sold the bulk of its North American transport business in a deal worth $4bn, as the transport group looks to focus on its UK bus and rail operations.The Aberdeen-based FirstGroup has sold First Student, America’s biggest school-run operator with about 43,000 yellow buses, and First Transit, which provides outsourced public transport, to EQT Infrastructure. Continue reading...
Report obtained by Yahoo says USPS surveilling via covert program social media activity it describes as ‘inflammatory’The US Postal Service has reportedly been monitoring social media posts, with a focus on people planning protests.The surveillance procedure, known as the Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP), tracks social media activity that it describes as “inflammatory” and shares that information to government agencies, according to a government bulletin from 16 March obtained by Yahoo News. The program is part of the efforts of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the law enforcement arm of the USPS. Continue reading...
Experts say the fear of arrest for massage workers – many of whom are undocumented – is greater than the fear of robbery or assault from clientsAn undercover New York City police officer enters an Asian massage parlor in plain clothes; he looks like any other client. He’ll request a massage and, when they are alone, he’ll ask his masseuse if she can perform sexual services. The masseuse may not speak English very well, so she may agree – or seem to – without understanding what she’s being asked.Related: 'A new chapter in an old story': what the Atlanta shootings reveal about the US Continue reading...
Hundreds of mourners filled a Minneapolis church for the funeral of Daunte Wright after the 20-year-old was killed two weeks ago by a police officer who said she mistook her gun for a Taser. The funeral came two days after the city's streets were filed by people celebrating the conviction of a former police officer for murdering George Floyd. Civil rights leader Al Sharpton was among those who delivered a eulogy and called for police reform. 'The time has come for police to understand they're not above the law, they're to enforce the law,' he said
New Hampshire man turns himself in to police after detonating explosives as part of a gender reveal party held in a quarryA New Hampshire family’s gender reveal party was such a blast that it set off reports of an earthquake, and could be heard from across the state line, police said.Police in Kingston, a town not far from the Massachusetts border, received reports of a loud explosion Tuesday evening. They responded to Torromeo quarry where they found people who acknowledged holding a gender reveal party with explosives. Continue reading...
