GHISLAINE MAXWELL FOUND GUILTY IN SEX ABUSE TRIAL British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty on five counts in her trial for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell faces years in prison — an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold her accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epstein‘s victims. [AP]
In defending his anti-abortion bill, Oklahoma state rep George Faut reveals that he thinks rape and incest all part of God’s will. “The Lord uses all circumstances.”
THESE CORPORATIONS FUNDED CO-SPONSORS OF OHIO’S PROPOSED ABORTION BAN A number of health care companies and major corporations have made campaign contributions to two dozen Ohio state lawmakers who are co-sponsoring new legislation to ban abortion in the state. The list includes health care companies such as Pfizer, Anthem, Molina Healthcare and Merck. [HuffPost]
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN OKLAHOMA ABORTION PROVIDER Since Texas banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, a doctor at Planned Parenthood’s Tulsa clinic has been working nonstop to accommodate the influx of Texans. “I worry a lot,” Dr. Joshua Yap said. “What if I get sick or if I become incapacitated? I can’t take a day off knowing that people are driving, sometimes eight to nine hours, to get to our clinic.” [HuffPost]
When asked Monday about the violent images of CBP agents on horseback threatening migrants, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that while she didn’t have the “full context” of what was happening in these incidents, “I don’t think anyone seeing that footage would think it was acceptable or appropriate.”
A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that the footage is “extremely troubling” and an investigation will be “conducted swiftly,” adding that the agency “does not tolerate the abuse of migrants in our custody.” In a subsequent statement to reporters Monday, Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz said he believed the agents were “trying to control” their animals but that officials would investigate the incident.
U.S. SET TO ADMIT LOWEST NUMBER OF REFUGEES EVER Despite Biden’s pledge to overhaul immigration and welcome refugees to the U.S., 2021 is on pace for a record low in refugee admissions, with 7,637 admissions as of Aug. 31. The refugee cap was set as up to 62,500 after pushback by advocates, but the U.S. is unlikely to meet that number by the Oct. 31 fiscal year deadline. [HuffPost]
My Brother’s Keeper has been longlisted for a BAFTA in the category of British Short Film.
Mohamedou Ould Salahi and one of his former guards, Steve Wood, reunite in Mauritania 13 years after last seeing each other, rekindling an unlikely relationship that profoundly changed their lives. Mohamedou was a prisoner at Guantánamo Bay for 14 years. During his incarceration, he was subjected to torture and solitary confinement, but never charged with a crime. His memoir, Guantánamo Diary, became an international bestseller and was adapted into the film, The Mauritanian, starring Tahar Rahim and Jodie Foster.
WHY HASN’T BIDEN LET GITMO PRISONERS GO? Six months into his presidency, Biden’s administration has not released a single person from Guantanamo Bay, even though 11 of the 40 men still there have been cleared for release. It’s been hard to discern exactly what the administration plans to do with Guantanamo — and how fast. [HuffPost]
FIRST GUANTANAMO DETAINEE RELEASED UNDER BIDEN Abdul Latif Nasser ― who was imprisoned without charge at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for 19 years ― was transferred to his home country of Morocco, making him the first detainee to be released from the infamous detention facility under President Joe Biden. Nasser, 56, was cleared for release by an interagency government review board back in 2016. [HuffPost]
This 13 May 2021 video from the USA says about itself:
Biden Is Flying Migrants Thousands of Miles Just to Send Them Back to Mexico
Biden’s campaign promised change at the US-Mexico border. But since March, the Biden Administration has been systematically flying thousands of migrants attempting to enter the US via the Rio Grande Valley in Texas all the way to San Diego — thousands of miles away — to then expel them to Tijuana. VICE News reports from the border.
IMMIGRATION ARRESTS SOAR UNDER BIDEN The number of immigrants detained by ICE has risen significantly under President Joe Biden, swamping detention centers and private prisons. The influx raises questions about whether detaining so many people is the best way to handle immigration. [BuzzFeed]
The probe could hurt the president‘s chances of being re-elected in next year’s polls.
Al Jazeera’s Monica Yanakiew reports from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
BOLSONARO’S OWN VERSION OF JAN. 6 FEELS INEVITABLE Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, is following Trump’s playbook to undermine 2022 elections. And he’s working hard to secure the military support Trump lacked, writes Travis Waldron. An actual military coup remains an unlikely scenario, analysts said, but there are fears that significant numbers of police could back Bolsonaro no matter what. [HuffPost]
INDIA’S COVID-19 DEATH TOLL TOPS 200,000 India reported a single-day record 3,293 COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the country’s total fatalities to 201,187, as the world’s second-most populous country endures its darkest chapter of the pandemic yet. The surge of new infections is tearing through dense cities and rural areas alike and overwhelming the health care system. [AP]
COVID-19 can affect the brain. New clues hint at how. Anxiety, depression and strokes can occur after infection, leaving experts to determine how the virus affects the brain: here.
This 12 April 2021 video from Minnesota, USA is called Brooklyn Center Police Fire Tear Gas On People Protesting Daunte Wright’s Death
FRESH UNREST NEAR MINNEAPOLIS Police fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop just outside Minneapolis on Sunday, inflaming tensions in the region again while former police officer Derek Chauvin is on trial over the death of George Floyd last year. The police shooting of Daunte Wright, 20, in the city of Brooklyn Center, sparked large protests. [HuffPost]
CONVICTION WAS AN ANOMALY Each year, police shoot and kill roughly 1,000 people. But from early 2005 to June 2019, only 104 non-federal law enforcement officers were arrested on murder or manslaughter charges related to an on-duty shooting, and only 35 were convicted of a crime. Chauvin’s conviction was an anomaly. [HuffPost]
TEEN GIRL IN OHIO KILLED BY POLICE A teenage girl was shot dead by a police officer in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday afternoon, about the same time that a jury in Minneapolis was returning guilty verdicts against Chauvin. Family members of the victim identified the girl as a “loving” and “sweet” teenager named Ma’Khia Bryant. [HuffPost]
COPS KEEP KILLING BLACK PEOPLE AFTER CHAUVIN VERDICT Police officers in Ohio, California and North Carolina have killed Black people since former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, a grim list of deaths at police hands that keeps growing. [AP]
MINNESOTA POLICE HARASS JOURNALISTS AT PROTESTS Minnesota police aggressively arrested a CNN producer and assaulted multiple other members of the press covering protests over the police shooting of Daunte Wright last week, according to an attorney representing dozens of news outlets. Some journalists also reported being harassed and intimidated by police. [HuffPost]
Anticipating mass protests over the summary execution of 13-year-old Adam Toledo by Chicago police on March 29, prosecutors from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, city officials and local media are seeking to portray the boy as a hardened gang member, justifying the police murder. Despite these attempts to shift blame away from the Chicago Police Department (CPD), Toledo’s death has shed further light on the lawlessness and brutality that characterize police operations in working class neighborhoods: here.
‘ASSASSINATION’ IN CHICAGO Chicago’s police oversight group released footage of an officer fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy more than two weeks ago. Police said the shooting followed an “armed confrontation” with Adam Toledo, but video footage showed no gun in the boy’s hand and that he complied by putting his hands up. “If you’re shooting an unarmed child with his hands in the air, it is an assassination,” Adeena Weiss-Ortiz, the Toledo family’s attorney, said. [HuffPost]
Status Coup’s Jordan Chariton shares original reporting he’s done with the Brown family, where one sister, Poushawn, has died after being required to administer COVID tests to other Amazon workers, and another sister, Christina, was met with concern for the Amazon vehicle and not herself when icy conditions flipped her delivery van. This points to a culture of psychopathy at Amazon that starts from the top.
This 4 April 2021 video from the USA says about itself:
Independent journalist Tina-Desiree Berg of District 34 (interviews Amazon workers who detail efforts to unionize, but also a culture of fear and a feeling of being very replaceable among the Staten Island Team.
Dutch webshop corporation Bol.com profited from the coronavirus pandemic. Their boss is getting a 6 million euro bonus. Also at Philips corporation, the bosses get big bonuses ‘for excellent behaviour’. These bosses have sacked 700 workers: here.
U.S. BILLIONAIRES GOT A LOT RICHER DURING PANDEMIC Billionaires’ fortunes swelled 45% since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, accelerating inequality and plowing an additional $1.3 trillion into rich people’s coffers. Pandemic profiteers included 43 newly minted billionaires, according to the Institute for Policy Studies. Another study found that 1 percenters hide 20% of their income from the IRS, which means wealth inequality is worse than we thought. [HuffPost]
Some COVID-19 survivors face another foe: PTSD. About a third of very ill patients developed post-traumatic stress disorder in a small study: here. Also a big bonus for Philips corporation bosses, ‘for excellent actions’. These bosses sacked 700 workers: here.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 