Republican measures target low-income residents, people with disabilities and people of color, and impose severe penaltiesTexas Republicans are at the vanguard of a national push to curtail voting rights, with lawmakers targeting the voters and policies that helped Democrats make inroads in the 2020 election. Continue reading...
After a year away, hotel and other hospitality workers fear they may be laid off permanently and replaced by cheaper staffLike many in the hospitality industry Harry East, a banquet server for over 20 years at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida, has struggled with anxiety and the uncertainty of having a job to return to once the hospitality industry recovers from the pandemic – all while experiencing long delays and gaps in receiving unemployment benefits through the state of Florida.Without action, East and 650 of his co-workers will be officially terminated from the Diplomat on 31 May, and the hotel has yet to agree to provide recall rights to workers that are still on furlough. Continue reading...
Police in Columbus, Ohio, fatally shot a 15-year-old girl on Tuesday afternoon, just moments before Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd. The girl was identified by local media as Makiyah Bryant.Officers were responding to an attempted stabbing call and, when police arrived, shot the girl around 4.45pm, officials said. The 911 caller reported a female was trying to stab them before hanging up, they said.
Known as one of US history’s singular heroes, Tubman is believed to have spent time at the cabin as a child and teenagerSocially distanced archaeologists in masks trudged through the wet forests on Maryland’s eastern shore, searching for signs of a long-abandoned home.Julie Schablitsky, the chief archeologist for Maryland’s state highway administration, used a metal detector, hoping for nails or other signs of an old building. Continue reading...
It will be dealt with by salt of the earth scientists and farmers - the sort of Australians people like you only ever have to think about when you fire them
Runner talked his way out of being mauled by large bear that pursued him for several minutes in Grand Teton national parkA runner talked his way out of a face-off with a large bear that pursued him for several minutes in Grand Teton national park in Wyoming, a showdown the runner captured in a three-minute video that went viral.Related: North Carolina man saves wife’s life in bobcat attack Continue reading...
If ever you feel you’re not good enough, try channelling the confidence of a man who invents pointless feminine hygiene products and pitches them on TV
Oscar Grant’s death in 2009 in Oakland, California, was the first high-profile killing by police caught on cellphone video that went viralFor the family of Oscar Grant, who was killed by police in 2009, the guilty verdict for Derek Chauvin was a rare moment of accountability – and a potential turning point in their fight against police brutality.“This is a huge moment in the last 12 years of our struggle,” Grant’s uncle, Cephus Johnson, told the Guardian on Tuesday, an hour after a Minneapolis jury convicted the former officer of second- and third-degree murder, and manslaughter. “To be able to actually witness a conviction on all three charges was extremely emotional. We’ve been let down so many times.” Continue reading...
Across many US cities, there were scenes of jubilation after Derek Chauvin was found guilty for the murder of George Floyd. Crowds gathered outside the court room in Minneapolis as well as at the scene of George Floyd's death. Loud cheering erupted from Floyd’s family members watching in an adjacent courthouse room. But the elation was tinged with wariness and concern that while justice was done for one Black person, it would not be enough by itself
The Obamas and Bernice King were among those to encourage justice for other victims of police brutality after the Derek Chauvin guilty verdictProminent Black Americans expressed relief after white former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd, but warned that police reform, and justice for other victims of police brutality, are still necessary.While Chauvin was found guilty of all the charges he faced – second- and third-degree murder, and manslaughter – by the jury in Minneapolis, the families of other Black Americans killed by police in recent years have yet to see their killers jailed, or even face a jury. Continue reading...
After weeks of anxiety, the city celebrated with a victory march. ‘Tomorrow we get back to work’, one organizer saidAs George Floyd’s girlfriend waited for a verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer charged with murdering Floyd, one of the journalists crowded around her asked what being present outside the Minneapolis courthouse meant to her.Courteney Ross, 45, who had given emotional testimony about her and Floyd’s struggle with opioid addiction, was candid: the courthouse was “not a comfortable place for many of us.” Continue reading...
Darnella Frazier’s video of Floyd gasping for air became a key piece of evidence in the trial of Derek ChauvinDarnella Frazier was just 17 last summer when she used her cellphone to film Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck until he died.On Tuesday, after a Minneapolis jury found the former police officer guilty on all three charges for the murder of Floyd, she posted on Facebook sharing her joy and relief. Continue reading...
Lawmakers echo Kamala Harris’s call for passage of George Floyd Justice in Policing ActAddressing the nation on Tuesday evening, Joe Biden said the guilty verdict for the former Minneapolis police office Derek Chauvin was “a start”. But, he said, “in order to deliver real change and reform, we can and we must do more”.“Protests unified people of every race and generation in peace and with purpose to say enough,” Biden said. “Enough. Enough of the senseless killings. Today’s verdict is a step forward. Continue reading...
Members of George Floyd’s family choked back tears while speaking of their relief that the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in their brother’s death. ‘Today, we are able to breathe again,’ George Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd told reporters. The Floyd family’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, said they were leaving the court knowing ‘that America is a better country’
by Alexandra Villarreal and Joan E Greve on (#5GTPR)
Congresswoman defiant as Republicans condemn her comments in support of protestersMaxine Waters remained defiant as Democrats successfully blocked a long-shot attempt by Republicans to censure and expel the veteran congresswoman over comments on the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, which the judge said could provide grounds for appeal.Related: Washington tense as America awaits Derek Chauvin verdict – US politics live Continue reading...
A prison sentence will not protect black people from the violence of the policeSince last May, the world has been waiting for justice for George Floyd, who was killed on the streets of Minneapolis after trying to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store. Today, the jury found police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts: second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. It was an emotional verdict, in what has been an emotional year since his killing. How are we to receive this moment?This verdict has been a long time coming. And it’s been a painful, difficult wait. Many times, I have had to remind people that it was Derek Chauvin who was on trial, not George Floyd. Over and over, people questioned Floyd’s history, his drug use and his actions – anything, that would shift the blame for his own death away from Derek Chavin. As WEB Du Bois once wrote: “Nothing in the world is easier in the United States than to accuse a black man of a crime.” That is still true today. Continue reading...
Derek Chauvin has been convicted of murder for killing George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes, a crime that prompted a wave of protests in support of racial justice in the US and across the world. The jury swiftly and unanimously convicted Chauvin of all the charges he faced – second and third degree murder, and manslaughter – after concluding that the white former Minneapolis police officer killed the 46-year-old black man through a criminal assault by pinning him to the ground so he could not breathe properly. A lack of oxygen in turn caused brain damage, heart failure and death in May last year
Crowds gathered outside a courtroom in Minneapolis reacted in jubilation when jurors returned a verdict of guilty on all three charges against the former police officer Derek Chauvin, on trial for the klling of 46-year-old George Floyd
Analysis: The testimony against the ex-officer was damning – it was clear this case was different from so many that had come beforeThe trial saw 44 witnesses and 15 days of testimony. And, in the end, less than a day to decide that Derek Chauvin, the white former Minneapolis police officer, was guilty of murdering George Floyd.It is a landmark moment not just in the history of US policing and criminal justice, but around the world. George Floyd’s death came to embody the struggle for racial justice and equality in so many ways they are impossible to condense: from forceful calls for police reform in Minneapolis and new legislation in Washington, to a reckoning on the history of British imperialism in the UK and a resurgence in activism over Indigenous deaths in custody in Australia. Continue reading...
Derek Chauvin’s trial for the killing of George Floyd has cast a spotlight on racist policingThe trial of white former police officer Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd has been one of the most high-profile cases in America’s recent history and cast a spotlight on racist policing in the United States.Floyd’s death on the streets of Minneapolis triggered a wave of protests and civic unrest that spread from Minnesota out across the US and eventually around the world, forcing a reckoning with institutional racism. Continue reading...
by Andrew Roth in Moscow and Julian Borger in Washing on (#5GTBG)
John Sullivan’s departure will leave both countries’ embassies without their top diplomats at key momentWashington’s ambassador to Moscow has announced that he will return to the US for consultations, days after the Russian government recommended he leave the country during what it said was an “extremely tense situation”.John Sullivan’s departure will leave both countries’ embassies without their top diplomats at a crucial moment, with Washington and Moscow recently announcing new sanctions, a Russian military buildup near Ukraine, and concerns about the opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s health while in detention. Continue reading...
We would like to hear from Black parents in the US on how they explain the role of the police to their childrenIf you are a Black parent, you’ve probably had “the talk” with your children, telling them to comply with police if they are stopped. It is a rite of passage for Black people, who are disproportionately killed by law enforcement officers.George Floyd’s death last year in Minneapolis sparked yet another discussion about the relationship between the Black community and law enforcement, and the role of police in society. Yet the violence continues. Since testimony in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer charged with murdering Floyd, began in March, more than 60 people have died at the hands of police, about half of them Black or Latino. They include Daunte Wright, 20, of Brooklyn Center, a Minneapolis suburb, and Adam Toledo, 13, of Chicago. Continue reading...
Experts argue that Tasers ‘expand the repertoire of violence’ and can have deadly consequencesTasers are often cited as a crucial tool in combating police violence in America, with proponents claiming that the “less lethal” weapons can help departments avoid deadly encounters.But the police killing of Daunte Wright in Minnesota – in which officials say an officer mistook her gun for her Taser – has resurfaced criticism of stun guns. Continue reading...
Kristi and Happy Wade’s home-security video of incident went viral while couple treated with antibiotics and rabies vaccineA North Carolina couple’s home-security video went viral after they were attacked by a rabid bobcat.“I won’t soon forget the look in that cat’s eyes,” Kristi Wade told the New York Times. “It had its sights set on me, and that’s when I ran.” Continue reading...
US vice-president in the late 1970s whose bid for the White House in 1984 ended in dismal defeat as Reagan won by a landslideThough his long political career did not warrant such a disaster, Walter Mondale, who has died aged 93, gained an unwelcome place in American political history. In 1984, challenging the incumbent president, Ronald Reagan, he won only 13 of the nation’s 538 electoral college votes, the worst defeat ever suffered by a Democratic presidential candidate. Only Alfred Landon had put in a worse performance: his 1936 Republican campaign against Franklin Roosevelt foundered with a mere eight of 531 electoral votes.Reagan’s performance in his televised debates with Mondale had revealed early signs of the former actor’s growing mental confusion, but he romped into his second term with 59% of the popular ballot and 525 electoral votes. Had Mondale not scraped a razor’s edge victory in his home state of Minnesota he would have become the nation’s all-time loser, winning only the three electoral votes of the irrepressibly Democratic District of Columbia. Continue reading...
English opinions will not decide a Scottish referendum, but the union would be easier to sell if it offered more than Tory ruleFilling in the census recently, I hesitated before choosing British over English from the menu of national identities. The correct answer is both. Team GB for the Olympics, England for the World Cup. After that, it gets hard to separate the different cultural elements that connect me to the country in which I was born but that my immigrant parents chose. In the chemistry of belonging, Britishness is a compound, not a mixture.I resented the strain of Brexit demagoguery that sought to narrow patriotic affiliation, excluding those of us who felt an attachment to Europe. I have Scottish friends who dread the prospect of a second independence referendum because their preference for staying in the UK will be cast as deficient national pride. Continue reading...
Until recently, same-sex couples in New York could only be recognised as equal parents after birth. But my partner and I are the first to benefit from a new law
Minnesota senator says ex-president never had any intention of reining in big companies for pursuing anti-competitive practicesIn a new book, the senator and former presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar condemns Donald Trump for “a whole lot of bluster with limited results” on her chosen subject, antitrust.Klobuchar cites his appointment of conservatives Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the supreme court as proof Trump never had any intention of reining in giant companies for pursuing anti-competitive practices, whatever he told the little guy out on the campaign trail. Continue reading...
Unless we do, police violence will rage on, and Black communities will continue to live in fear of the people ostensibly sworn to protect themOn the night of 30 May last year, I was standing at the mayor of Atlanta’s podium, wondering what I might say to keep my hometown from burning itself to the ground before the sun came up in the morning.The fury erupting in the streets of Atlanta in George Floyd’s name that night was the cry of generations, and it was a righteous cry, and it was justified. Standing there before those TV cameras, I thought of Mr Floyd in his last moments on Earth, his neck crushed under the knee of a cop who once took an oath to serve and protect his community, his partner standing watch while Mr Floyd cried out for his mother in heaven and died. Continue reading...
The California governor is facing a motley mix of political opponents, from Caitlyn Jenner to Republican John Cox, a businessman who lost by 24 pointsAs the California gubernatorial recall effort heats up, Gavin Newsom is preparing to face off against a motley mix of political challengers – including a reality TV star, a former Facebook executive, a Los Angeles billboard model, and a Republican businessman who lost the last gubernatorial race by 24 points.California election officials are expected to verify by the end of April that Newsom’s opponents have collected enough signatures to force a recall later this year – likely sometime in November. Continue reading...
The veteran quarterback survived benchings, doubting coaches and an injury that almost cost him his life. He walks away from football a heroIf the NFL ever renames its Comeback Player of the Year award after Alex Smith, the reasons will go much deeper than a three-time Pro Bowl quarterback who returned to the field after a gruesome leg fracture threatened his life.Smith announced his retirement on Monday after 16 NFL seasons that even the most imaginative Hollywood screenwriter couldn’t have dreamed up. In his moving retirement announcement on Instagram, Smith understandably talked about perseverance and wanting to be able to take walks with his wife and how he’ll now school his kids in the backyard. But there was a line in there that seemed a bit off: “Football wouldn’t let me give up.” Continue reading...
Closing statements were made in the murder trial of the former police officer yesterday. Plus, former vice-president Walter Mondale has diedGood morning.Jurors in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin over the death of George Floyd will start their first full day of deliberations this morning, after closing arguments were made yesterday. Continue reading...
In Seattle, 43% of citations since 2017 have gone towards homeless people, while Black cyclists received citations at nearly four times the rate of white cyclistsOn the streets of Seattle, 130 vendors sell non-profit Real Change’s weekly newspaper for $2 apiece. They’re no strangers to police attention: King county has a law requiring all cyclists to wear a helmet, but not all do. Some vendors on bicycles have received citations; others are just stopped by police.But on 19 March 2019, a vendor was riding a bright green rental bike when a driver struck him in a hit-and-run. Witnesses said the driver was at fault. As the vendor lay on the street, receiving medical treatment before going to the hospital, police officers mocked him. Ultimately, the man – who was homeless and of self-described “mixed-race” – received a citation for not wearing a helmet. The driver received no citations at the scene. Continue reading...
by Dani Anguiano in Paradise, California and Alastair on (#5GTEW)
Stephen Vest was left homeless after the Camp fire destroyed Paradise. He died last year after a chaotic incident in which police shot at him 11 timesThrough the overhead lights from his car, the security guard saw that Stephen Vest was injured. The dark-haired 30-year-old’s left arm appeared to be bleeding as he walked out of the park just before 8pm on a warm night last October.“What’s wrong? What happened? What can I do to help?” the guard asked Vest from his car. Continue reading...
Collaborative of seven digital, TV and radio outlets from El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, join forces to report on immigration through ‘different lens than most national media’Editor Bob Moore sits at his desk in El Paso, Texas, and turns up the volume on his Zoom meeting English-language channel, where a simultaneous interpreter helps him understand his Spanish-speaking counterpart, Rocío Gallegos, who also sits at her desk, across the border in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.It’s Monday, time for another editorial meeting at the first binational, bilingual border journalism project in the US – or maybe anywhere. Continue reading...
Stars such as Jeremy Lin and Chloe Kim have long endured racist taunts, but they have recently started to speak about their experiences“Tell Yao Ming, ‘Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh’”.Those were the words Shaquille O’Neal casually tossed out in a 2003 TV interview when referring to the Houston Rockets’ Chinese star. Whether, as O’Neal claimed, it was meant as a joke or not, it was the kind of language Asians in America have had to endure for years. Continue reading...
Psychiatry has long failed to explain depression. Our research into psilocybin suggests a new approach could offer answersMental illness is the 21st century’s leading cause of disability, affecting an estimated billion people across the world. Depression is the number one contributor: more than 250 million people have this condition globally. The number of people prescribed antidepressant medications, the first-line treatment for depression, increases each year, and the market for them is valued at approximately $15bn (£11bn). Yet depression prevalence rates have not decreased since accurate record-keeping began. One reason for this paradox is the failure of science to adequately explain how and why depression occurs.Related: ‘The ketamine blew my mind’: can psychedelics cure addiction and depression? Continue reading...
by Amudalat Ajasa in Saint Paul and Lois Beckett in M on (#5GT5J)
Teens gather in Twin Cities to condemn the killings of Daunte Wright and George Floyd as Chauvin trial continues“National guard, go home!” hundreds of teenagers chanted in a heavily fortified Minneapolis on Monday, as part of statewide high school walkouts over the police killings of Daunte Wright and George Floyd.In neighboring Saint Paul, more than a hundred students took their grievances over police brutality to the capitol, where lawmakers inside the fenced-in statehouse could be seen peeking out through the curtains to look at protesters outside. Continue reading...
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