2020-05-10: News Headlines

RT (2020-05-10). NYC more than doubles number of 'social-distancing ambassadors' after cops' enforcement of Covid-19 rules causes backlash. rt.com Following troubling viral videos of arrests and concerns about racial disparity in enforcing Covid-19-related social distancing, Mayor Bill De Blasio says he is increasing "ambassadors" in the city from 1,000 to 2,300. | "Enforcement has always been the last resort," the mayor said at a press conference Sunday. | His comment comes in the wake of the city having come under increased scrutiny thanks to a viral video, of what some have flagged as police brutality, showing NYPD officers arresting several people suspected of breaking social-distancing rules, and also to statistics showing the last few months have s…

Howie Hawkins (2020-05-10). Fight COVIF-19 Not Venezuela. dissidentvoice.org The Keystone Cops have nothing on the rag-tag group of soldiers of fortune who failed earlier this week in their implausible plot to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, trigger a military coup, and install the US puppet, Juan Guaidó, in the presidency. We know all about the hair-brained scheme due to a falling out of …

graham (2020-05-10). Something about Julian Assange you should know. truepublica.org.uk Anyone watching the current events surrounding Julian Assange will know that justice in Britain is not the driving motivation behind his incarceration. His treatment by the state is truly shameful, immoral and reprehensible. What you are witnessing in real-time is the abuse and oppression of a journalist all funded by the taxpayer to further the …

Staff (2020-05-09). Wall Street Is Profiting From Police Brutality. therealnews.com Taxpayers are paying double for police brutality settlements thanks to cities and towns buying bonds from Wall Street to finance payouts for officer misconduct. San Diego cop watcher Kat from Irate Productions discusses recent police harassment of unarmed residents.

Staff (2020-05-08). One Mardi Gras Story Lays Bare How COVID-19 Is Devastating Black People. truthout.org Image Credit: L. Kasimu Harris | We look at the deadly disparate impact of the pandemic on African Americans as told through an in-depth story for The New York Times Magazine by writer Linda Villarosa in her new piece, "'A Terrible Price': The Deadly Racial Disparities of Covid-19 in America," that tells what happened to the Zulu club, a Black social organization in New Orleans, during and after Mardi Gras. She reports that the experience is usually a joy, but the coronavirus made it a tragedy. |

Berwick DM. (2020-05-05). Moral Choices for Today's Physician. jamanetwork.com In this essay, Don Berwick considers moral choices physicians face personally, organizationally, and globally and exhorts them to understand that the health of humanity depends on their speaking out against the social injustice of overpricing drugs and services, mass incarceration, and the lack of environmental responsibility.

RT (2020-05-07). Texas releases salon owner JAILED for reopening despite Covid-19 lockdown — after her case prompts governor to ease penalties. rt.com Texas salon owner Shelley Luther has been ordered released from jail after the governor and attorney general protested her imprisonment over violating the state's lockdown and modified the shutdown orders to exclude imprisonment. | Luther, who became a symbol of the movement to end Texas' lockdown when she was arrested for refusing to shutter her Dallas salon despite a district judge's restraining order, was ordered released from jail on Thursday by the Texas Supreme Court after serving two days of a seven-day sentence. | Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick personally paid the $7,000 fine the judge had imposed on…

Staff (2020-05-09). Black People Are Being Arrested at Higher Rates for Social Distancing Violations. truthout.org Ohio's health director, Dr. Amy Acton, issued the state's stay-at-home

Fight Back (2020-05-09). National Alliance Statement on the Lynching of Ahmaud Arbery. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. | This past Thursday, May 7th, Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael, a father and son lynch crew, were arrested for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man on the eve of his 26th birthday. We've all seen the video of this racist, lynch-style murder that went public more than two months ago. | A Black man is hunted and gunned down and it takes two months before an arrest. Two months after seeing the video before the District Attorney, George Barnhill, files charges. The…

Staff (2020-05-08). "A Lynch Mob": After Months of Inaction, 2 White Men Are Charged with Murder of Ahmaud Arbery in GA. democracynow.org The two white men caught on camera shooting and killing Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old African American man, were arrested and charged Thursday with murder. The arrests came two days after video of the attack in February was shared with the public, sparking widespread outrage. Today would have been Arbery's 26th birthday. We speak with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents the Arbery family and formerly represented Trayvon Martin.

Lucas Koerner (2020-05-08). Venezuela: Two U.S. citizens captured in botched coup attempt. mronline.org Two former green berets were arrested in a second failed assault on Venezuelan shores on Monday.

Staff (2020-05-08). Headlines for May 8, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Pass 75,000 as Trump Sidelines Top Medical Experts, Trump to Be Tested for Coronavirus Daily After Valet Tests Positive, Vigil at White House Honors 88 Who Died from "Trump's Abhorrent Failure to Protect Nurses", U.S. Unemployment Claims Soar to 33.3 Million Amid Pandemic | , Democrats Promise "Rooseveltian" Coronavirus Relief Bill | , Mitch McConnell Prioritizes Judicial Confirmations as Senate Returns Amid Pandemic | , Data Shows 35 of 40 People Arrested in NY for Social Distancing Violations Are Black | , Texas Stops Jailing Lockdown Violators; Nebraska Ends Reporting on Meat Plant COVI…

Staff (2020-05-08). After Months of Inaction, 2 White Men Are Charged With Murder of Ahmaud Arbery. truthout.org The two white men caught on camera shooting and killing Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old African American man, were arrested and charged Thursday with murder. The arrests came two days after video of the attack in February was shared with the public, sparking widespread outrage. Today would have been Arbery's 26th birthday. We speak with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents the Arbery family and formerly represented Trayvon Martin. | TRANSCRIPT: | This is a rush tra…

Staff (2020-05-07). Headlines for May 7, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 73,400 as 41 States Begin Reopening | , White House Shelves Guidelines on Reopening, as Experts Warn U.S. Failing to Stem COVID-19 Deaths, Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. Children Going Hungry as Unemployment Surges to Great Depression Levels, State Budget Cuts Loom as Trump Rails Against "Blue State Bailouts" | , United Nations Seeks $6.7 Billion for Coronavirus Aid to Poor Countries | , EU Warns Pandemic Economic Recession Will Be Worst in History | , Closing Ceremony of Spanish Coronavirus Field Hospital Marred by Tightly Packed Crowds, Venezuelan TV Airs Video of Arrested U.S. Mercenary Co…

Staff (2020-05-06). U.S. Mercenaries Captured in Venezuela After Failed Coup Attempt Compared to a "Bad Rambo Movie" democracynow.org We look at an incredible story unfolding in Venezuela of a failed coup attempt. Did a former Green Beret mastermind it? Two Americans have been arrested in Venezuela. President Nicolás Maduro claims the U.S. was behind the plot. "It looks like a bad Rambo movie, or a really bad telenovela," says Miguel Tinker Salas, author of "The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture, and Society in Venezuela." He notes that "the U.S. is seeking regime change … and the consequences for Venezuela could be very dire going forward."

Lucas Koerner and Ricardo Vaz (2020-05-05). Venezuela: Two US Citizens Captured in Botched Coup Attempt. venezuelanalysis.com Two former green berets were arrested in a second failed assault on Venezuelan shores on Monday.

Rachel Janik (2020-04-21). Augustus Invictus Arrested in Florida for Stalking, Violating Bond. splcenter.org Invictus' father, John Gillespie, was arrested days earlier and charged with human trafficking of children under 18 years old.