“Voting rights groups vowed Friday to fight against a new election law in Georgia they said would erect a wall of barriers for voters of color not seen since the Jim Crow era. They also blasted the arrest of a Georgia state representative, a Black woman, who attempted to watch the signing of the state’s new election law.
‘We’re back at Jim Crow era,’ said LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, a nonpartisan civic engagement group based in Georgia. ‘Our fight to support and protect democracy is not over.’
Georgia officials approved Thursday a sweeping voting rights measure that would overhaul the state’s election rules.Hours later, Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican and the state’s former secretary of state, signed it into law, while some Democrats and voting rights activists protested at the state Capitol.
Cannon was charged with two felony counts of obstruction of law enforcement, punishable by one to five years in prison, and with disrupting a session of the General Assembly.
Griggs said he’s working to get the charges dismissed.
‘I don’t see an obstruction,’ he said. ‘I see law enforcement dragging a state representative through the people’s house and then arresting her.’
Cannon was held in jail Thursday night for nearly six hours, Griggs said.
‘She’s shaken, but she’s resolved to fight for justice and accountability for her constituents and to make sure we protect voting rights,’ he said.
More:'It's sick': Biden slams Republican efforts in state legislatures to limit voting rights
President Joe Biden criticized efforts in Republican-led state legislatures, including Georgia's, to pass election bills making access to the ballot box more difficult. Biden and other Democrats said Congress must pass voting rights measures that would undo some of the states' more restrictive changes.
‘Instead of celebrating the rights of all Georgians to vote or winning campaigns on the merits of their ideas, Republicans in the state instead rushed through an un-American law to deny people the right to vote,’ Biden said in a statement Friday. ‘This law, like so many others being pursued by Republicans in statehouses across the country is a blatant attack on the Constitution and good conscience.’
The Georgia law, would among other things, require a photo ID to vote absentee by mail, cut the period to request an absentee ballot and place limits on ballot drop boxes. It would also give more control over election officials to the state Legislature.
It would also make it illegal to hand out water to voters on line. In recent elections, Georgia voters, particularly those in Black neighborhoods, have waited many hours in line to vote.
Biden and other Democrats, along with voting rights groups, are pushing for passage of voting rights bills H.R.1 and S1 in Congress that aim to expand access to the polls. The House passed the ‘For the People Act’ earlier this month. The Senate held a hearing on the measure last Wednesday. It faces more hurdles in the Senate, where Democrats hold a slim majority.
More than 253 bills in 43 states have been introduced that would restrict access to voting, including reducing early voting hours, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's School of Law in New York City.
Voting rights activists describe Republican efforts to make voting more difficult as an attempt to turn away voters, particularly people of color. Georgia has long come under fire from activists for such practices.
Many states adopted changes last year to accommodate voters during the COVID-19 pandemic, including providing drop-off boxes for ballots. Democrats hoped to make many of the changes permanent.
National civil rights groups, including the National Urban League, the National Action Network and the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, said Georgia's new election reform is in response to the record turnout of Black voters in key races.
‘We must call this bill what it is: pure voter suppression...,’ the groups said in a statement. ‘The coordinated effort to force this restrictive bill onto the people of Georgia is a devastating reminder that we have not yet moved beyond the dark history of voter suppression in this country.’…Read more at USA Today
“Voting rights groups on Thursday night filed a lawsuit just hours after Georgia enacted a Republican-crafted law that gives state lawmakers more power over elections and imposes a raft of new voting restrictions.
The 35-page complaint filed in federal court in Atlanta alleges that minority voters will be hit especially hard by the new legislation, which plaintiffs say illegally suppresses voters’ rights in violation of constitutional protections and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
According to the lawsuit, the new restrictions are ‘clearly intended to and will have the effect of making it harder for lawful Georgia voters to participate in the State’s elections,’ adding that the measure will impose ‘unjustifiable burdens’ that disproportionately impact people of color, as well as young, poor and disabled voters.” Read more at The Hill
“Transgender students in Tennessee will be required to compete in school sports according to their sex at birth after Gov. Bill Lee signed a controversial bill into law Friday.
The Volunteer State is the third to enact such legislation into law this year, following Mississippi and Arkansas.
The bill quickly advanced in the state legislature this year. Supportive lawmakers argue the bill protects women sports by ensuring fairness and eliminating a competitive edge they say transgender women may have over their cisgender peers.
But medical experts, LGBTQ advocates and transgender Tennesseans deem the legislation discriminatory against a small population in the state. There is no evidence of transgender student athlete participation in Tennessee.
Lee, who previously said transgender athlete participation would ‘destroy women's sports,’ touted his signing of the bill on social media.
‘I signed the bill to preserve women's athletics and ensure fair competition,’ he posted on Twitter. ‘This legislation responds to damaging federal policies that stand in opposition to the years of progress made under Title IX and I commend members of the General Assembly for their bipartisan work.’
The bill reflects a nationwide push as similar bills advance in at least 21 states this year. Many are modeled after an Idaho law last year, which was blocked by a federal judge from taking effect. The push comes as President Joe Biden has sought to bar gender discrimination in many areas, including school sports, through a January executive order.
Critics have said Tennessee's bill may invite economic loss and legal challenge in the future. The American Civil Liberties Union in Tennessee has also threatened to sue the state.” Read more at USA Today
“Japanese firm Shoei Kisen KK, which owns the giant container ship stuck sideways across the Suez Canal in Egypt, said an attempt will be made to refloat the vessel later on Saturday by taking advantage of tidal movements. The Ever Given turned sideways in a blinding sandstorm and got wedged Tuesday in a single-lane stretch of the canal, about 3.5 miles north of the southern entrance. At a news conference Friday night, Yukito Higaki, the company's president, said 10 tugboats were deployed and workers were dredging the banks and sea floor near the vessel's bow to try to get it afloat again as the high tide starts to go out. ‘We apologize for blocking the traffic and causing the tremendous trouble and worry to many people, including the involved parties,’ he added. A maritime traffic jam grew to around 280 vessels Saturday outside the Suez Canal, according to canal service provider Leth Agencies.” Read more at USA Today
“A group of House Democrats on Friday unveiled a bill seeking to block changes outlined this week in Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan to reduce financial losses within the United States Postal Service.
On Tuesday, DeJoy released plans seeking to increase postage prices, provide longer delivery windows and reduce post office hours. The changes also include increasing the standard for first-class mail by a day after the agency struggled to keep up with its current two-to-three-day standard for first-class mail and three to five days for nonlocal mail.
Under DeJoy’s plan, 70 percent of first-class mail items would take three days, while the remaining 30 percent could take up to an additional two days.” Read more at The Hill
“The United States set the world record for highest number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered in a single day on Friday, according to the White House.
In a tweet, White House COVID-19 Data Director Cyrus Shahpar announced that the U.S. administered almost 3.4 million doses on Friday, passing the country's previous daily high of 2.9 million on March 12.” Read more at The Hill
“Adherents of far-right groups who cluster online have turned repeatedly to one particular website in recent weeks — the federal database showing deaths and adverse reactions nationwide among people who have received Covid-19 vaccinations.
Although negative reactions have been relatively rare, the numbers are used by many extremist groups to try to bolster a rash of false and alarmist disinformation in articles and videos with titles like ‘Covid-19 Vaccines Are Weapons of Mass Destruction — and Could Wipe out the Human Race’ or ‘Doctors and Nurses Giving the Covid-19 Vaccine Will be Tried as War Criminals.’
If the so-called Stop the Steal movement appeared to be chasing a lost cause once President Biden was inaugurated, its supporters among extremist organizations are now adopting a new agenda from the anti-vaccination campaign to try to undermine the government.
Bashing of the safety and efficacy of vaccines is occurring in chatrooms frequented by all manner of right-wing groups including the Proud Boys; the Boogaloo movement, a loose affiliation known for wanting to spark a second Civil War; and various paramilitary organizations.” Read more at New York Times
“Dominion Voting Systems filed a defamation suit against Fox News Network on Friday over the network’s claims that the company meddled in the 2020 election results. The suit, filed in Delaware where both companies are incorporated but not headquartered, is seeking $1.6 billion in damages.
In the complaint obtained by the Associated Press, Dominion argues that Fox began to spread falsehoods about the voting-services company in an attempt to win back viewers that dropped off because they saw Fox as ‘insufficiently supportive of President Trump, including because Fox was the first network to declare that President Trump lost Arizona.’
Dominion said Fox News continued to promote ‘verifiably false yet devastating lies’ about the company, including debunked claims that Dominion used its voting machines and software to commit voter fraud and manipulate vote tallies.
‘Yet even after Fox was put on specific written notice of the facts, it stuck to the inherently improbable and demonstrably false preconceived narrative and continued broadcasting the lies of facially unreliable sources — which were embraced by Fox’s own on-air personalities — because the lies were good for Fox’s business,’ the complaint reads.
It continued, ‘Fox took a small flame and turned it into a forest fire. As the dominant media company among those viewers dissatisfied with the election results, Fox gave these fictions a prominence they otherwise would never have achieved.’
Dominion was a frequent subject in right-wing conspiracy theories about the election, which claimed that the company rigged its voting machines to favor Joe Biden over Trump. There were even unfounded suggestions that the Colorado- and Toronto-based corporation had ties to the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez and his family.
Allegations of massive voter fraud in the 2020 general election have been debunked. Even Attorney General Bill Barr said in December that the Department of Justice could find no evidence of meddling ‘on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.’
Dominion has already filed suits against other individuals that frequently pushed these allegations against the company, including Rudy Giuliani, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, and attorney Sidney Powell. Fox News itself is already being sued by Smartmatic, another voting-equipment company, that also alleges the network made defamatory statements linking it to voter fraud.
In response to the lawsuit, Fox News released a statement that said, ‘Fox News Media is proud of our 2020 election coverage, which stands in the highest tradition of American journalism, and will vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit in court.’
Fox intends to move to dismiss the suit, having issued four motions.” Read more at NYMag
“As President Biden signaled this week that he would let a May 1 deadline pass without withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan, some officials are using an intelligence assessment to argue for prolonging the military mission there.
American intelligence agencies have told the Biden administration that if U.S. troops leave before a power-sharing settlement is reached between the Taliban and the Afghan government, the country could fall largely under the control of the Taliban within two or three years after the withdrawal of international forces. That could potentially open the door for Al Qaeda to rebuild its strength within the country, according to American officials.
The classified assessment, first prepared last year for the Trump administration but not previously disclosed, is the latest in a seriesof grim predictions of Afghanistan’s future that intelligence analysts have delivered throughout the two-decade-long war.
But the intelligence has landed in a changed political environment. While President Donald J. Trump pushed for a withdrawal of all forces even before the terms of the peace deal required it, Mr. Biden has been more cautious, saying Thursday that he does not view May 1 as a deadline he must meet, although he also said he ‘could not picture’ troops being in the country next year.” Read more at New York Times
“Points Of Interest: Capitol Attack
Eleven weeks after a mob of Trump supporters stormed Congress in an effort to prevent Joe Biden’s presidency, the security fencing around the Capitol is coming down — and the number of federal charges has finally surpassed those issued during Black Lives Matter protests last year. Here are some points of interest:
Size of crowd authorities believe got inside the Capitol: About 800(Capitol Police Chief Yolanda Pittman)
Facing unsealed federal charges so far: 332 and counting (GW Program on Extremism)Arrests made during anti-racism protests in 49 cities nationwide, May 27 to Jun 22: 14,000 (Washington Post)
Facing federal charges for offenses committed “adjacent to or under the guise of peaceful demonstrations” over the summer: Over 300(Justice Department)
Most common home state of rioters charged federally in Capitol attack: Pennsylvania, 32
Total reported political donations by rioters following Election Day: More than $18,700 (Allan Smith)
Oath Keepers facing conspiracy charges: 10 Oath Keepers facing charges who served as Roger Stone’s body guards: 2 (TPM)
Walkie talkie channel Oath Keepers used to communicate: “STOP THE STEAL J6” (The Guardian)
Digital tips submitted to investigators: More than 270,000 (FBI Director Christopher Wray)
Data archived by hackers from the social media website Parler, some of which was subsequently cited in criminal complaints: 56.7 terabytes (Vice)
Current and former law enforcement facing charges: At least 9 (CBS News)
Youngest person facing changes: Bruno Cua, 18 Oldest people facing charges: Bennie Parker and Lonnie Coffman, both 70
Most Twitter followers: Brandon Straka, 526,600 (Twitter)” Read more at TPM“After a 20-year-old woman took five shots of vodka and a prescription pill, she said she was standing outside a Minneapolis bar in May 2017 when a man invited her and a friend to a party. She agreed but soon found out there was no gathering, she later testified.
She ‘blacked out’ instead, waking up on a couch and found that the man she had just met was allegedly sexually assaulting her, according to court records.
Almost four years later, the Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously ruled this weekthat Francios Momolu Khalil, 24, cannot be found guilty of rape because the woman got drunk voluntarily beforehand.The decision Wednesday overturned Khalil’s prior conviction of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, which had been upheld by an appeals court, and granted him the right to a new trial.
The ruling also poured fuel on an effort in the Minnesota legislature to expand the state’s definition of ‘mentally incapacitated’ to include voluntary intoxication so that defendants such as Khalil can be convicted of more serious offenses.” Read more at Washington Post
“The UN’s premiere global body fighting for gender equality called for a sharp increase of women in global decision-making in a hotly debated final document adopted Friday night that saw continuing pushback against women’s rights and a refusal to address issues of gender identity.
The Commission on the Status of Women reaffirmed the blueprint to achieve gender equality adopted 25 years ago at the Beijing women’s conference and shone a spotlight on several major issues today, including the imbalance of power between men and women in public life and the growing impact of violence against women and girls in the digital world.” Read more at Boston Globe
“It may not have been a sound public-relations strategy for a company known for its grueling working conditions and frequent allegations of labor violations to deny one of the more memorable claims to emerge from its warehouses. But Amazon went for it anyway this week, when one of its official accounts tweeted a denial of the reporting that its drivers and fulfillment-center workers have been forced to pee in bottles in order to save time to fulfill quotas set by their managers.
‘You don’t really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you?’ tweeted the company’s Amazon News account. ‘If that were true, nobody would work for us.’ The denial was in response to an exchange between Wisconsin representative Marc Pocan and Amazon senior vice-president Dave Clark, who said he welcomed Bernie Sanders’s trip supporting Amazon workers’ union drive in Alabama. After Clark said that his company — known for its union-busting tactics and poor COVID protections for workers — is the ‘Bernie Sanders of employers,’ the Democratic congressman pushed back, saying that paying workers $15 an hour ‘doesn’t make you a ‘progressive workplace’ when you union-bust & make workers urinate in water bottles.’
Upon issuing the denial, the company was promptly made to smell the evidence, as several reporters covering labor conditions in Amazon warehouses shared their reporting on the practice:
The most effective example of this trend came from the Intercept’s Ken Klippenstein, who published documents proving that employees peeing in bottles was so commonplace that the $1 trillion company ‘frequently referenced it during meetings and in formal policy documents and emails.’ One document from a Pittsburgh facility described infractions by Amazon employees, which included ‘public urination.’ Another involved an email from the same facility in which a logistics manager wrote in May: ‘We understand that DA’s [driver associates] may have emergencies while on-road, and especially during COVID, DAs have struggled to find bathrooms while delivering.’
If the tweet was designed to express neutrality amid the unionization drive in Alabama — which could results in over 5,000 warehouse workers becoming the first unionized members of Amazon’s labor force of 800,000 — the Intercept report only made the situation messier. In the email provided by the Pittsburgh employee, the manager also scolded drivers for pooping in bags during their shifts: ‘This evening, an associate discovered human feces in an Amazon bag that was returned to station by a driver. This is the third occasion in the last two months when bags have been returned to station with poop inside.’” Read at NYMag
“Larry McMurtry, a prolific novelist and screenwriter who demythologized the American West with his unromantic depictions of life on the 19th-century frontier and in contemporary small-town Texas, died on Thursday at home in Archer City, Texas. He was 84.
The cause was congestive heart failure, said Diana Ossana, his friend and writing partner.
Over more than five decades, Mr. McMurtry wrote more than 30 novels and many books of essays, memoir and history. He also wrote more than 30 screenplays, including the one for ‘Brokeback Mountain’ (written with Ms. Ossana, based on a short story by Annie Proulx), for which he won an Academy Award in 2006.
But he found his greatest commercial and critical success with ‘Lonesome Dove,’ a sweeping 843-page novel about two retired Texas Rangers who drive a herd of stolen cattle from the Rio Grande to Montana in the 1870s. The book won a Pulitzer Prize in 1986 and was made into a popular television mini-series.” Read more at New York Times
“Beverly Cleary, who enthralled tens of millions of young readers with the adventures and mishaps of Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy, the bratty Ramona Quimby and her older sister Beezus, and other residents of Klickitat Street, died on Thursday in Carmel, Calif. She was 104.” Read more at New York Times
“In the face of mounting pressure from prominent artists and activists about his financial ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the investor Leon Black told colleagues Friday that he would not stand for re-election as the chairman of the Museum of Modern Art, according to two people with knowledge of his decision.” Read more at New York Times
‘Hamnet,’ a novel by Maggie O’Farrell that imagines the death of Shakespeare’s 11-year-old son during the bubonic plague, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction on Thursday.
Founded in 1974, the National Book Critics Circle is made up of more than 600 literary critics and book review editors in the United States. The organization’s annual awards, which it typically gives out in the spring to works published the previous year, are unusual in that book critics, rather than authors or academics, select the winners. The awards are open to any book published in English in the United States.
O’Farrell, the author of eight other books, became obsessed with the story of Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, when she was at Cambridge University studying English. In her novel, she brought him ‘so vividly to life the reader is stricken by his loss,’ one of the award’s judges, Colette Bancroft, said in a citation.
Raven Leilani won the John Leonard Prize, which recognizes a debut author, for her novel ‘Luster,’ about a young Black woman who works in publishing and moves in with her lover, an older married man, and his family.
The award for nonfiction went to the journalist Tom Zoellner for ‘Island on Fire: The Revolt That Ended Slavery in the British Empire,’ an account of the 1831 revolt that led to the abolition of slavery in Jamaica.
In a year when many new novels and serious works of nonfiction were overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic and presidential election, literary awards have helped draw attention to some of them. The awards were presented virtually on Thursday night. Last year’s ceremony, which was set to take place in March just as the gravity of the pandemic became clear, was canceled, and the winners were celebrated during a virtual ceremony in January.
The poet Cathy Park Hong won the prize in autobiography for ‘Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning,’ an essay collection that explores race, culture and her experiences as a Korean American woman and writer. In her acceptance speech, she dedicated her award to the memory of the women of Asian descent who were killed in the shootings in Atlanta last week, and read their names aloud.” Read more at New York Times
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