Browsing: National News

     The second week of the Derek Chauvin murder trial kicked off with the much-anticipated testimony of Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo who outright condemned former police officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd. He said Chauvin’s use of force was in violation of Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) policy.

     Aventiv is the parent company of Securus Technologies, which is best known for providing telecommunication services to prisons and jails around the U.S., including phones and digital tablets. The company, along with others in the industry, has come under fire in recent years for the high prices charged to family members of the incarcerated for use of their services in some jurisdictions.

     McClellan, a Democrat in the state legislature for over 14 years, will be the first Black woman to serve as governor in the United States if she is elected in November. It’s a feat that she does not take lightly in a state that will undoubtedly be surveyed as the next high-stakes election comes this fall.

“Work, life, balance,” uttered Lewis as a reminder of one of her mottos. “I think in some ways I may have redefined that. It’s tough to be a CEO in business and a CEO in the home. You have challenges in both places, and it can take a toll on you. But time management is always key.”

This year’s Good Friday is especially poignant for African Americans it comes in the middle of the trial of Derek Chauvin for the gruesome murder of George Floyd. The 9 minutes and 29 seconds that turned the collective stomach of the world have been seared into our shared consciousness and the legacy of this watershed moment is still playing out.

The Republican-led Georgia State Legislature passed the anti-democratic SB202 to suppress and obstruct statewide voter turnout and further impede the possibility of increased voting from African Americans and other communities of color, a lawsuit filed yesterday in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia said. 

     Paul Murray, an army veteran from Texas already wanted by the Secret Service, was arrested outside of Vice President Kamala Harris’s official residence.

Faith Odunsi, a 15-year old Nigerian high school student, has won the 2021 Global Open Mathematics competition. She bested contestants from many countries around the world including the U.S., China, Australia, and others.

On the 56-year mark of Alabama’s brutal Bloody Sunday attack on Black communities, their allies and democracy itself, President Joe Biden released recorded remarks this morning calling for Senate passage of the national Lawyers’ Committee-supported For the People Act (H.R. 1) and restoring the Voting Rights Act, now named the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. President Biden also is expected to sign an executive order to promote voter registration and other measures.

 Today the Washington State Senate voted to automatically restore voting rights to more than 20,000 people in the state who have past criminal convictions and are on community supervision, the equivalent of parole and probation in Washington. The House passed the same measure last month. The legislation now awaits Governor Jay Inslee’s signature to become law. Washington would become the 20th state to restore voting rights upon release from prison.