South Africa's defence minister was accused of misusing state resources for party political business.
from BBC News - Africa https://ift.tt/3kLsoUi
via Gabe's Musing's
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Supreme Court could become more conservative on guns, abortion and other key issues
As President Donald Trump seeks his third appointment to the high court, justices are readying to tackle big legal issues
WASHINGTON (AP) — If Congress confirms President Donald Trump’s nominee to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court would become more conservative, and also perhaps more ready to tackle certain hot-button issues like abortion and guns. Chief Justice John Roberts would also likely become less able to steer the outcome in divisive cases.
Ginsburg, who died Sept. 18 at 87, was the leader of the liberal wing of the court, which had been split 5-4 between conservatives and liberals. Roberts had, on occasion, sided with the liberals. But if Trump fills Ginsburg’s seat, there will be six conservative justices, three of them appointed by him.
Here are several big issues that are poised to come before the justices where a more solidly conservative majority could make a difference:
HEALTHCARE
A week after the presidential election, the court will hear arguments in bid by the Trump administration and Republican-led states to overturn the Obama-era health care law. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, coverage for more than 20 million people is at stake, along with the law’s ban on insurance discrimination against Americans with pre-existing medical conditions.
A more conservative court might be seen as more sympathetic to striking down the Affordable Care Act, but the court might still choose not to. The justices have less drastic options. For example, the court could invalidate “Obamacare’s” now toothless requirement that most Americans carry health insurance, and leave in place core provisions such as subsidized health insurance, Medicaid expansion and protection for people with medical problems.
Now that former President Barack Obama’s landmark law is more than 10 years old, its many provisions are fully baked into the health care system. Unwinding it would be a colossal undertaking, fraught with political risks.
Trump promised, but never delivered, a replacement.
ELECTIONS
Trump has said he wants Ginsburg’s replacement confirmed to the Supreme Court ahead of Election Day so that a full court can weigh in on any campaign-related litigation.
Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Trump predicted the election “will end up in the Supreme Court,” adding, “I think it’s important we have nine justices.” The 2016 election was conducted with only eight justices on the bench, however, after Republicans refused to hold hearings on Obama’s nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
It’s possible that an election-deciding case lands in the justices’ laps, as one did in the 2000 election between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore. And liberals worry that a court with three Trump appointees would favor him in a dispute with Joe Biden.
But even if an election-deciding question doesn’t arrive at the justices’ doorstep, they have already weighed in on election changes states have made in response to the coronavirus pandemic. And more pre-election challenges are likely coming. So far this year the court has stopped other courts from altering election rules close to the election.
ABORTION
Abortion rights advocates would seem to face insurmountable odds winning at the Supreme Court without Ginsburg.
Earlier this year, a divided Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law regulating abortion clinics, reasserting a commitment to abortion rights. It was the first big abortion case of Trump’s presidency.
The 5-4 outcome turned on the vote of Roberts, who joined his four more liberal colleagues, including Ginsburg. The court addressed a law requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. The justices ruled that the law violates the rights established by Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a nationwide right to abortion.
READ MORE: Ginsburg’s death puts Roe v. Wade on the ballot in November
But Roberts’ vote had to do with following court precedent rather than support for abortion rights. If a Trump nominee replaces Ginsburg, Roberts’ vote on the issue would likely become less decisive. And the addition of another conservative vote would likely spur states to test the boundaries of regulation.
Already, cases are headed to the court that would provide an opportunity to overturn or weaken Roe. v Wade. Those cases involve sweeping bans on abortions after six weeks or eight weeks of pregnancy.
GUNS
The Supreme Court has for years been reluctant to take on new guns cases, but that could change under a more conservative court.
Last year, with two Trump justices aboard, the Supreme Court took on its first major gun rights case in nearly a decade. But the case ended with the justices sidestepping any major decision.
Gun rights advocates had hoped the court might use the case from New York City to expand on landmark decisions that established a right under the Second Amendment to keep a gun at home for self-defense. Instead, the justices ultimately threw out the case, citing changes in city restrictions and state law.
Three members of the court dissented, however, expressing concern that lower federal courts are not properly applying the court’s two big gun rights decisions from 2008 and 2010. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was among the justices who agreed the case should be thrown out, shared that concern, saying the court should address the issue soon.
ENVIRONMENT
After the president started pulling America out of the Paris climate accord, more than a dozen mostly Democratic governors were among those taking up the fight against climate-changing fossil fuel emissions themselves
A more conservative Supreme Court could doom those ongoing efforts, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said this week. Newsom said he’s “deeply anxious about what a 6-3 ideological majority on the court may mean to this conversation.”
READ MORE: Fox News host Tucker Carlson says only liberals believe climate change and systemic racism are real
But the outcome of the presidential election matters in this area too. A Biden administration could undo many of the dozens of Trump administration rollbacks weakening or eliminating many protections for the air and water and for people and wildlife.
Federal courts so far have rejected many of the rollbacks. Lawyers for environmental groups say if Trump were to win a second term and the makeup of the Supreme Court shifts significantly, they could be less likely to win if cases ultimately land there.
____
Associated Press writers Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, David Crary, Ellen Knickmeyer and Mark Sherman contributed to this report
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
The post Supreme Court could become more conservative on guns, abortion and other key issues appeared first on TheGrio.
from TheGrio https://ift.tt/30aEizc
via Gabe's Musing's
As African nations find success in fighting virus, researchers search for answers
One public health official credits relative success in combating the virus in Africa to ‘drastic action’ taken by nations at ‘great cost to their economies’
While much of the world has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, multiple nations in Africa have managed to keep the virus at bay. Now, NBC News reports that researchers are working to figure out how it is being done.
According to Dr. Sam Agatre Okuonzi of Uganda’s Arua Regional Referral Hospital, things looked “very bleak” for Africa in regards to coronavirus. It was initially predicted that several countries would experience “severe devastation.”
“In Uganda, it was predicted that by September, there would be 600,000 cases of COVID-19 and 30,000 deaths,” Okuonzi said Thursday in a press conference. “But the reality is starkly different.”
According to Johns Hopkins University, Uganda has recorded about 7,300 positive COVID-19 tests and about 70 deaths.
Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, Africa’s regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO), attributes the relative success in combating the virus to early diligence of several African nations.
“Governments took early, quite drastic action through the lockdowns at great cost to their economies,” Moeti stated in the same news-making event Thursday. “This has bought us some time.”
READ MORE: As US struggles, Africa’s COVID-19 response is praised
Concern over the fragile health systems of numerous nations on the continent was high when the pandemic started. However, as of Sept. 20, the entire African continent has recorded more than 1.4 million cases and about 35,000 deaths connected to COVID-19 as of Sunday morning, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly half of those positive tests — almost 670,000 — were diagnosed in South Africa. The population of the continent is 1.2 billion.
About 1.2 million people in Africa, a continent of an estimated 1.2 billion people, have now recovered from the disease.
As a comparison, the United States, which has an estimated population of 330 million, has reported over 7 million coronavirus cases and over 204,000 deaths, with 4.5 million recoveries, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of Sunday morning.
READ MORE: As US struggles, Africa’s COVID-19 response is praised
As the world seeks to blunt what damage a second wave of the virus may bring, researches are working to see what other factors have led to the containment of COVID-19 in Africa in an effort to educate other countries. University of Edinburgh professor Francisca Mutapi is among those who are researching nations like Zimbabwe to find the key to immunity levels.
One factor considered is the fact that much of Africa’s population resides in rural areas and spend a majority of time outside.
“One of the factors about the virus is it doesn’t transmit very well outdoors,” Moeti stated. “Africa has a significant population that is rural and spends a lot of time outdoors. That is one of the factors that we have found from our own work.”
Moeti has also said a factor could be that only three percent of most African nations have a populace of citizens over age 65.
The majority of coronavirus related deaths worldwide have been with people over the age 65, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
The post As African nations find success in fighting virus, researchers search for answers appeared first on TheGrio.
from TheGrio https://ift.tt/2SgI99P
via Gabe's Musing's
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson endorses Biden-Harris ticket for White House
In a first for the most electrifying man in sports entertainment, The Rock has publicly endorsed a candidate for public office
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has never publicly endorsed a candidate for public office before.
All that has now changed, as he’s announced his support for Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to be elected the next president and vice president on the United States this November.
The actor and former wrestler posted his official announcement on his Twitter page on Sunday morning. Not only did he give his endorsement, but he also recorded a video of him speaking with both Biden and Harris, asking them about what they plan to do if they win.
Johnson is a self-proclaimed “political independent and centrist” who has voted for both Democrats and Republicans in his lifetime. He also revealed he has friends “in all parties.” However, he’s choosing to speak up now for what he calls “the most critical election this country has seen in decades.”
READ MORE: Biden, Harris pay tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg at viewing
The video transitioned from Johnson making his endorsement announcement alone and outdoors to a virtual sit-down with Biden and Harris, where he complimented them both and told them he was endorsing them in the election. Johnson then asked the duo how they plan to earn the respect of the nation if they win.
“By doing what we say we’re going to do. By keeping our word,” Biden answered. “When we fail, acknowledge it. We’re not going to be perfect, but take responsibility.”
Harris responded to the same question by saying that trust needs to be established between the American people and the Administration.
READ MORE: What we have to lose with Trump: Education for our Black children
“It’s a reciprocal relationship. You give and receive trust,” Harris answered. “And one of the foundations of trust is truth.”
Harris continued by saying that it’s difficult to be truthful at times because sometimes people don’t want to always hear the truth, but that the nation has been suffering so much that being truthful is crucial to progress.
“People are grieving the loss of life, the loss of jobs, the loss of certainty, the loss of normalcy,” Harris said. “And to heal and get through this, we’re going to have to be honest about what healing will require.”
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
The post Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson endorses Biden-Harris ticket for White House appeared first on TheGrio.
from TheGrio https://ift.tt/342T1xl
via Gabe's Musing's
Netflix on YouTube
The Strange History Behind Millie Bobby Brown's Secret Codes | Enola Holmes
Maybe the weirdest Victorian-era pastime involved sending coded love notes through newspaper ads. Yes, that’s right — the thing you thought was just fiction in Enola Holmes is actually real. Here it is, explained. Watch Enola Holmes, Only on Netflix: https://ift.tt/2FJv9Gv SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 193 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. The Strange History Behind Millie Bobby Brown's Secret Codes | Enola Holmes https://youtube.com/Netflix While searching for her missing mother, intrepid teen Enola Holmes uses her sleuthing skills to outsmart big brother Sherlock and help a runaway lord.
View on YouTube
Maybe the weirdest Victorian-era pastime involved sending coded love notes through newspaper ads. Yes, that’s right — the thing you thought was just fiction in Enola Holmes is actually real. Here it is, explained. Watch Enola Holmes, Only on Netflix: https://ift.tt/2FJv9Gv SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 193 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. The Strange History Behind Millie Bobby Brown's Secret Codes | Enola Holmes https://youtube.com/Netflix While searching for her missing mother, intrepid teen Enola Holmes uses her sleuthing skills to outsmart big brother Sherlock and help a runaway lord.
View on YouTube
Netflix on YouTube
Every Hidden Easter Egg in Cobra Kai | Netflix
From the music and cinematography, to the characters and costumes, the number of Karate Kid references in the Cobra Kai series is truly astounding - but don't worry, you don't have to count, because we did it for you. Watch Cobra Kai, On Netflix: https://ift.tt/34LWhPL SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 193 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Every Hidden Easter Egg in Cobra Kai | Netflix https://youtube.com/Netflix Johnny continues building a new life, but a face from his past could disrupt his future. Meanwhile, Daniel opens a Miyagi-Do studio to rival Cobra Kai.
View on YouTube
From the music and cinematography, to the characters and costumes, the number of Karate Kid references in the Cobra Kai series is truly astounding - but don't worry, you don't have to count, because we did it for you. Watch Cobra Kai, On Netflix: https://ift.tt/34LWhPL SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 193 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Every Hidden Easter Egg in Cobra Kai | Netflix https://youtube.com/Netflix Johnny continues building a new life, but a face from his past could disrupt his future. Meanwhile, Daniel opens a Miyagi-Do studio to rival Cobra Kai.
View on YouTube
I bought my first home at age 29 during Covid-19—here are 5 things I wish I’d known earlier
A 29-year-old shares the lessons she learned from buying her first home during the Covid-19 pandemic and what she wishes she’d known in advance.
from Wealth https://ift.tt/3i4jqQt
via Gabe's MusingsGabe's Musings
from Wealth https://ift.tt/3i4jqQt
via Gabe's MusingsGabe's Musings
Netflix on YouTube
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness | Teaser Trailer | Netflix
Based on the Capcom video game franchise, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness is a horror series with a sci-fi twist. Coming 2021 only on Netflix. SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 193 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness | Teaser Trailer | Netflix https://youtube.com/Netflix
View on YouTube
Based on the Capcom video game franchise, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness is a horror series with a sci-fi twist. Coming 2021 only on Netflix. SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/29qBUt7 About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 193 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness | Teaser Trailer | Netflix https://youtube.com/Netflix
View on YouTube
Homespun BLM products include cookie kits, garden gnomes
To many onlookers, the sales through the crafts marketplace Etsy may straddle an uncomfortable line between supporting the movement and exploiting it.
A few weeks after nationwide protests erupted over the police killing of George Floyd, Julie Muller looked for something positive she could contribute to the movement from her Houston home.
The 67-year-old white woman, who has been selling homemade cookie-decorating kits online since March, decided to offer one with a Black Lives Matter theme. The kit comes with cookie cutters imprinted with former President Barack Obama’s face, sprinkles and icing in red, black and green — the colors of the Pan-African or Black Liberation flag.
Other examples of homespun BLM merchandise include wine stoppers and even garden gnomes — objects more often associated with white suburbia. The white sellers insist they are not trying to make light of racial issues or widen their profit margins. But to many onlookers, the sales through the crafts marketplace Etsy may straddle an uncomfortable line between supporting the movement and exploiting it.
Muller’s three children were the first to warn her she might appear to be capitalizing on racial unrest. But that’s partly why she wanted to act.
“I’ve been thinking about what’s systemic racism and what is racial profiling,” Muller said. “It’s more about doing my part. What can I offer?”
The protest movement ignited by Floyd’s death in May under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer compelled businesses large and small to declare publicly that they were “woke” to the pain of Black people. Manufacturers soon began making BLM T-shirts, face masks and signs.
READ MORE: Some say quarantine has helped them become better people
It’s not surprising that independent merchants wanted to express solidarity too, said Patti Williams, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
To demonstrate sincerity, sellers should commit to making these items permanently to show their efforts are not just an attempt “to jump on a fad,” she added.
There’s also potential for the items themselves to be seen as offensive or tone-deaf.
Ashleigh Boutelle, 45, of Twin Peaks, California, custom paints garden gnomes as a side business. After making gay pride gnomes, he decided in July to try painting a Black Lives Matter gnome. The yellow-and-black-clad gnome — a nod to the colors used on a Black Lives Matter website — wears a “BLM” hat. He also painted it with a darker skin tone.
“I was just trying to be very careful and present something that you might say is neutral,” Boutelle said. “Hopefully, someone who sees it is not offended.”
He has since gotten a few orders for either Black Lives Matter gnomes or African-American gnomes. Boutelle hopes people don’t question his sincerity because his support is displayed on a mythical figure with a pointy hat.
“I like the idea of offering it to someone who might want to put it in their yard to make a statement — a cute statement, of course,” said Boutelle, who has not chosen yet to which organization to donate $10 from every sale of the $60 gnome.
Kate Mayer, 37, of Cincinnati, decided to offer a Black Lives Matter wine bottle stopper among her dozens of handmade wine stoppers. She understands critics may dislike the link between rosé and race relations. But her Etsy shop is her biggest platform.
“I can only hope that they would understand that I’m trying to come from a good place,” Mayer said. “I’m just trying to do the little bit that I can do. If everyone does that, it adds up to a lot.”
She gives 25% of each sale to the Black Voters Matter Fund. She has sold 15 of the $17 stoppers.
READ MORE: Amazon takes down ‘Joe and the Hoe’ shirts belittling Kamala Harris
“I’m really not making a profit on these,” Mayer said. “It’s more of just a show of good faith.”
Both independent creatives and companies should be donating profits to demonstrate solidarity, said Fresco Steez, an activist with Movement for Black Lives and co-founder of Black Youth Project 100. And it can’t be just a percentage. Otherwise, businesses are essentially benefiting from the social struggles at the heart of the protests, she said.
“If you keep your production costs and explicitly say all of the profits are going to doing the work — that feels ethical to me,” Steez said.
Crafters can also do other things, like donate an item for an organization’s fundraiser or event, Steez added.
In Chicago, Jasmine Renee, a Black legal assistant in her early 20s, recently launched an Etsy shop — Shea Butter Apparel — to sell Black Lives Matter-themed shirts, sweaters and accessories she designed. Advertising support for the movement on items like a gnome or wine stopper doesn’t personally appeal to her. She hopes those who find them appealing will also look at Black-owned businesses and that white sellers will promote Black sellers of BLM merchandise.
“It doesn’t really put the focus on you and your store or operation,” Renee said. “It returns some of the focus to the main goal of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is to say Black bodies are important. What we say and do is important.”
Ultimately, the offbeat creations could be a good way to touch a demographic that is sometimes out of activists’ reach. A wine stopper, for example, might initiate “upper middle-class conversations” about the marginalization of Black people and other groups, Steez said.
“My hope is when a white woman buys a Black Lives Matter wine stopper and potentially in the middle of the COVID pandemic has a dinner party and she sets it on a table — that a Trump-Pence supporter potentially wants to have a conversation and wants to debate,” Steez said.
Muller, a former teacher, would like to see her cookie-decorating kit serve as a vehicle to talk with children of any race about the movement and why it matters.
“I think you could make a little lesson around it,” Muller said. “I can’t believe anybody would say that would be unimportant.”
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
The post Homespun BLM products include cookie kits, garden gnomes appeared first on TheGrio.
from TheGrio https://ift.tt/336n5J0
via Gabe's Musing's
Car injures 2 protesters during California demonstration
The injured people were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries
YORBA LINDA, Calif. (AP) — Two people were struck by a car and injured Saturday during a Southern California demonstration involving members of Black Lives Matter and counter-protesters.
The incident occurred in the city of Yorba Linda, about 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
The injured people were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the driver of the car was detained, said Carrie Braun, spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
The incident occurred as members of Black Lives Matter demonstrated against police brutality and systemic racism.
READ MORE: Jacob Blake’s uncle on Trump: ‘We don’t have any words for the orange man’
Counter-protesters crossed six-lane Imperial Highway and confronted the BLM protesters, authorities said. The protesters also confronted each other in the parking lot of the Yorba Linda public library, Braun said.
A white sedan came went through the crowd in the parking lot or the exit of the parking lot at the public library, injuring two people, Braun said. People chased the car as it tried to drive away, and it was eventually stopped and was surrounded by police, she said.
The Register reported it was not known how fast the car was going. The back windshield had been broken out, and it had a flagpole sticking out of it. The front windshield was smashed, the Register reported.
The female driver of the car was detained, Braun said.
READ MORE: Police: 3 arrests at right-wing rally in Portland, Oregon
Braun said there were 300 people total and at some point it was declared an unlawful assembly and dispersal orders were given.
On Thursday night, a protester was struck by a pickup truck during a march in Hollywood and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Los Angeles police said Friday the preliminary investigation found that the driver was attempting to maneuver through the crowd when protesters began beating the vehicle with sticks and attempted to open the door.
The driver was attempting to drive away from the situation when he struck the protester. The driver stopped several blocks away and cooperated with officers. He was released pending the outcome of the investigation.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
The post Car injures 2 protesters during California demonstration appeared first on TheGrio.
from TheGrio https://ift.tt/3cCjTs4
via Gabe's Musing's
NeNe Leakes suggests that she was ‘forced’ out of RHOA
Turns out it may not have been all her decision after all
Earlier this month, NeNe Leakes announced that she decided not to return to Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta next season.
Turns out it may not have been all her decision after all.
On September 17, Leakes posted a video message to fans on her YouTube channel, disclosing that after an “extremely, extremely long, exhausting, tiring, emotional negotiation,” she made the “very hard and difficult decision to not be a part of Real Housewives of Atlanta season 13.”
When a fan asked her on Twitter on Friday if Bravo was going to give her her own spin off show, Leakes replied back with, “They don’t think I deserve to work at all in any [capacity].”
Leakes’ statement then received a response by another fan, Ellison Kendrick, an ex-background singer for Joss Stone. Kendrick tweeted back to Leakes, “it sound like they forced you out!” She then wrote, “Is that the story you want our there. ‘They didn’t want u to work in any capacity?'”
READ MORE: NeNe Leakes announces she’s leaving ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’
“They definitely did,” Leakes replied.
READ MORE: Celebrities react to NeNe Leakes RHOA departure
While the full story behind Leakes’ departure remains a mystery at this time, she is the second cast member of Real Housewives of Atlanta to reveal that they will not be coming back. In June, Eva Marcille Sterling announced that she was also stepping away from the show, according to The Ricky Smiley Show, of which she is a co-host.
She said she wanted to focus on “other opportunities” as one of the reasons for departing the show by “serving the community.” Marcille Sterling, the inaugural winner of “America’s Next Top Model,” joined the Housewives in season 10.
“I love every single one of those black women. They are all queens all in their own right,” Marcille Sterling said of her tenure on Housewives. “They are stars and I wish them the most successful season and transformational season 13 that The Real Housewives of Atlanta has ever seen.”
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
The post NeNe Leakes suggests that she was ‘forced’ out of RHOA appeared first on TheGrio.
from TheGrio https://ift.tt/2G793yj
via Gabe's Musing's
Saturday, September 26, 2020
Police: 3 arrests at right-wing rally in Portland, Oregon
The rally began at noon and was largely dispersed by 3 p.m.
Police arrested three people at a right-wing rally Saturday afternoon in Portland, Oregon, and authorities say they’re also investigating an assault after one person who was documenting the event was pushed to the ground and kicked in the face.
Several hundred people, dozens of them wearing militarized body armor, had gathered — far fewer than the 10,000 organizers had expected to show to support President Donald Trump and his “law and order” reelection campaign as tensions boil over nationwide following the decision not to charge officers in Louisville, Kentucky, for killing Breonna Taylor.
The event began at noon and was largely dispersed by 3 p.m. The Oregon Department of Transportation shut down the interstate highway for a brief time to help control the crowd and flow of traffic.
“The purpose of this closure was to clear some people out of the area who wanted to leave and to keep competing groups separate,” said Chris Liedle, a spokesman with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, in updates posted on Twitter as the city braced for the threat of violence at multiple rallies in the area.
The people arrested include a man suspected of driving under the influence and a woman for an outstanding arrest warrant, Liedle said.
Dozens began to show up two hours before the rally, some packed into the beds of pickup trucks. Many were wearing some sort of militarized body armor, including helmets and protective vests. Many flew American flags or black flags bearing the logo of the Three Percenters, another far-right group and some wore Make America Great Again hats.
Read More: Black man calls out Portland protesters in viral video: ‘You ain’t from here’
The Proud Boys, a group that has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, described it as a free speech event to support Trump and the police, restore law and order and condemn anti-fascists, “domestic terrorism” and “violent gangs of rioting felons” in the streets. Local and state elected officials forcefully condemned the event and rushed to shore up law enforcement ranks as left-wing groups organized several rallies to oppose the Proud Boys’ message.
TJ Detweiler, who works in construction and plumbing, said at the rally that he wanted to end domestic terrorism in the U.S.
“I would like to see people stop the looting and rioting and enjoy the country for what rights we have,” Detweiler said.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Friday said she was sending state troopers to help the Portland police and was creating a unified command structure among city, regional and state law enforcement — a tactic that essentially circumvents a city ban on the use of tear gas as a crowd-control measure. The state police said a “massive influx” of troopers would be in Portland by Saturday morning.
“This is a critical moment. We have seen what happens when armed vigilantes take matters into their own hands. We’ve seen it in Charlottesville, we’ve seen it in Kenosha and, unfortunately, we have seen it in Portland,” she said, referencing deaths in Virginia, Wisconsin and Oregon during clashes between those on the right and left of the political spectrum.
“The Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer groups have come time and time again looking for a fight, and the results are always tragic,” said Brown, a Democrat. “Let me be perfectly clear, we will not tolerate any type of violence this weekend.”
The Proud Boys are self-described “Western chauvinists” and they have held multiple events in Portland since Trump’s election alongside other right-wing groups such as Patriot Prayer that often end in violent clashes with left-wing counter-demonstrators.
Last month, Aaron “Jay” Danielson, a Trump supporter and Patriot Prayer follower, was shot and killed after some vehicles in a pro-Trump car caravan diverted into downtown Portland and crossed paths with left-wing activists. The suspect in the shooting, a self-described anti-fascist, was killed the following week by law enforcement as they tried to arrest him in Washington state.
The Proud Boys mentioned Danielson in their permit application, as well as Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged in the shooting deaths of two Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Some attending Saturday’s rally carried signs that said “Free Kyle Now.” The permit application had estimated 10,000 people would attend.
Rittenhouse’s attorneys have said he was acting in self-defense. The Proud Boys raised the specter of a vigilante response to the actions of a “mob” in a permit application filed with the city this week.
“Portland leadership is unwilling to stop the violence,” the Proud Boys wrote in the application. “They have been blinded by their hatred of our President and will not allow outside help stopping the violence.”
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said the city and its police force did not need or want help from “paramilitaries or vigilante groups.”
Police have canceled all scheduled days off for officers Saturday and will primarily be focused on keeping dueling groups of protesters separated.
Deputy Chief Chris Davis acknowledged that Oregon is an open-carry state for firearms. But he reminded those attending the rally and counter-demonstrations that under Portland law, it’s illegal to carry a loaded firearm in public without an Oregon concealed handgun permit. Officers will patrol for weapons and check for permits as needed, he said.
Read More: Federal task force kills Portland shooting suspect at arrest
“We ask that you come peacefully and engage in your free speech peacefully,” Police Chief Chuck Lovell said. “It’s OK for us to disagree about things. But at the end of the day, doing so peacefully, letting people exercise their rights safely is very important. So that’s my ask the folks who are attending.”
The rally comes as Portland approaches its fifth month of almost nightly protests against racial injustice and police brutality.
Demonstrators want the city to take millions from the police budget and reallocate it to support the Black community. Some also are angry with the mayor — who is also the police commissioner — for allowing police to use tear gas until recently and for what they call overly aggressive police tactics. Wheeler has also refused to cede control of the police bureau to a Black city councilwoman with a decades-long resume of activism around police reform.
Associated Press reporters Sara Cline in Salem, Oregon, and Sally Ho in Seattle contributed to this report.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
The post Police: 3 arrests at right-wing rally in Portland, Oregon appeared first on TheGrio.
from TheGrio https://ift.tt/336CsBy
via Gabe's Musing's
California man who rammed car into protesters used family vineyard as ‘training camp’
An arraignment and plea are scheduled for Tuesday
An armed man who drove his truck into a crowd of peaceful protesters was using his family’s vineyard as a “training camp” to prepare for “civil disorders,” according to authorities.
Benjamin Hung, 28, was charged with many things including “one count of conspiracy to transport firearms and making a false statement in the acquisition of firearms,” according to NBC.
Read More: Minneapolis street to be named for George Floyd
Hung was arrested after he drove his Dodge Ram into a crowd in Pasadena.
The car he used had a license plate that read “WAR R1G.” War Rig is a reference to the video game War Commander. In the game, the vehicle is used to ram foes in combat.
The fictional car has been embraced by right-wing extremists, furthering the belief that it is okay to run over liberal protesters.
The incident took place on May 31 during a protest after the death of George Floyd. There were about 150 protesters in attendance.
The protesters were chanting “Black lives matter here” before running away from Hung’s car, according to an FBI agent, named Diamond Outlaw.
Hung told the police he felt threatened by protesters who he claims threw things at his car, NBC News reported.
When police searched his truck, they found a loaded Glock handgun, a 15-round magazine, a machete, an 18-inch metal pipe, a megaphone, and $3,200, according to the affidavit, CBS News reported.
Hung was also charged with attempted assault with a deadly weapon in state Superior Court. Court records show that he posted his $30,000 bond on June 12. An arraignment and plea are scheduled for Tuesday.
Read More: Black Texas news anchor calls out racial inequality: ‘You can’t be afraid to stand on what is right’
Hung lived with his parents in San Marino where his family owns the vineyard he used as a “tactical training camp.”
The authorities also gained access to Hung’s iCloud account, showing he had stockpiles of weaponry and tactical gear including assault rifles, semi-automatic pistols, magazines, ammunition, a tactical vest, binoculars, a rifle scope, and other equipment.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
The post California man who rammed car into protesters used family vineyard as ‘training camp’ appeared first on TheGrio.
from TheGrio https://ift.tt/3cBk3jq
via Gabe's Musing's
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)