The victim received mental health care at a crisis center three days before he was killed.
The Philadelphia Police Department has released the 911 calls and bodycam footage showing the fatal encounter with 27-year-old Walter Wallace Jr..
As theGrio previously reported, law enforcement had responded to three disturbance calls from Wallace Jr.’s home and the last visit on Oct. 26 resulted in him being fatally shot.
He died after two police officers claimed he “advanced” on them with a knife, and they shot Wallace Jr. “several times.” He later died at the hospital.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said police video of the incident “may be intense and traumatic for many people to watch.”
“With this release, the world will see we are engaging in an open process, a process that acknowledges the harm our actions have caused,” he added. “We will learn from our failings and we will do better.”
The officers involved in the shooting have been identified as Sean Matarazzo, 25, who has worked for the department since 2018, and Thomas Munz, 26, who joined the force in 2017, per Buzzfeed News.
Wallace Jr. received mental health care at a crisis center three days before he was killed by Philadelphia police.
An earlier report on theGRIO noted that he regularly used the outpatient services at the West Philadelphia Consortium, a mental health crisis response center, and had recently resumed treatment, according to executive director John White, per Inquirer.com.
“His mother told me that when he came home Friday and she asked him how it went, he told her that he was doing much better and that we had gotten him ready to start looking for a job,” said White of Wallace Jr.’s last visit to the center.
But for whatever reason, Wallace became triggered and began to spiral out of control on that fateful night. Family members called 911 requesting medical assistance for him, but instead, police showed up.
White believes if the family or the police had called a crisis team from the center to the scene, Wallace Jr. might still be alive.
The bodycam footage supports previously released cellphone videos showing Wallace exiting the house holding a knife. The officers demand that he drop the weapon before one cop yells “shoot him.” Several shots are fired and Wallace collapses.
“The ambulance never made it,” said attorney Shaka Johnson at a press conference shortly after his death. “[Officers] didn’t have the training and the tools to do the job effectively and, as such, a man was murdered.”
Release of the bodycam footage reportedly marks the first time the Philadelphia Police Department has publicly made available video of a police shooting.
“What you will not see…and mark my words on this, you will not see a man with a knife lunging at police,” Johnson said of the video.
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The surging cases and hospitalizations reflect the challenge that either President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden will face in the coming months over the pandemic
The United States set another record for daily confirmed coronavirus cases as states around the country posted all-time highs, underscoring the vexing issue that confronts the winner of the presidential race.
The surging cases and hospitalizations reflect the challenge that either President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden will face in the coming months over the pandemic, with winter and the holidays approaching.
Public health experts fear potentially dire consequences, at least in the short term.
Trump’s current term doesn’t end until Jan. 20. In the 86 days until then, 100,000 more Americans will likely die from the virus if the nation doesn’t shift course, said Dr. Robert Murphy, executive director of the Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, echoing estimates from other public health experts.
Daily new confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. have surged 45% over the past two weeks, to a record 7-day average of 86,352, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Deaths are also on the rise, up 15 percent to an average of 846 deaths every day. The total U.S. death toll is already more than 232,000, and total confirmed U.S. cases have surpassed 9 million. Those are the highest totals in the world, and new infections are increasing in nearly every state.
In this Nov. 3, 2020, file photo, Salt Lake County Health Department public health nurses look on during coronavirus testing outside the department in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
Several states on Wednesday reported grim numbers that are fueling the national trends. Texas reported 9,048 new cases and 126 deaths, and the number of coronavirus patients in Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma hospitals also set records. About a third of the new cases in Texas happened in hard-hit El Paso, where a top health officials said hospitals are at a “breaking point.”
“Where we are is in an extremely dire place as a country. Every metric that we have is trending in the wrong direction. This is a virus that will continue to escalate at an accelerated speed and that is not going to stop on its own,” said Dr. Leana Wen, a public health expert at George Washington University.
Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association, said there are things Americans can do now to help change the trajectory.
“Regardless of the outcome of the election, everyone in America needs to buckle down,″ Bailey said.
“A lot of us have gotten kind of relaxed about physically distancing, not washing our hands quite as often as we used to, maybe not wearing our masks quite as faithfully. We all need to realize that things are escalating and we’ve got to be more careful than ever,” she said.
Polls showed the public health crisis and the economy were top concerns for many Americans.
They are competing issues that Trump and Biden view through drastically different lenses.
Trump has ignored the advice of his top health advisors, who have issued increasingly urgent warnings in recent days about the need for preventive measures, instead holding rallies where face coverings were rare and falsely suggesting that the pandemic is waning.
By contrast, Biden has rarely been seen in public without a mask and made public health a key issue. Whether his voice will carry much influence if Trump is declared the winner is uncertain.
“President Trump has already made clear what his strategy is for COVID-19, which is to pretend that there is not a contagious virus all around us,” Wen said. Trump has been touting treatments and vaccines, which won’t be widely available to all Americans until at least mid-2021, she noted.
In this Nov. 3, 2020, file photo, two women, wearing protective masks due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak, cast their ballots at a polling station at Windham, N.H. High School. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
“There’s a lot of suffering that is going to happen before then, which could have been prevented,” Wen said.
Federal health officials have said they believe a vaccine could get emergency use authorization before the end of the year. The first limited supplies of doses would then be immediately distributed to the most vulnerable populations, which is likely to include frontline health care workers. Doses would then gradually become more widely available.
The timeline hinges on having a vaccine that’s shown to be safe and effective, which experts note is not yet a certainty. “The vaccine has to move at the speed of science,” said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean for public health practice at Johns Hopkins University and former Maryland state health department chief.
On the treatment front, the makers of two experimental antibody drugs have asked the Food and Drug Administration to allow emergency use of them for people with mild to moderate COVID-19, and Trump, who received one when he was sickened last month, has said he wanted them available right away.
So far, the FDA has granted full approval to only one drug — the antiviral remdesivir — for hospitalized patients. Dexamethasone or similar steroids are recommended for certain severely ill patients under federal treatment guidelines.
The government continues to sponsor many studies testing other treatments alone and in combination with remdesivir.
Clemintine Banks, front right, changes gloves after handing a ballot to a person who tested positive for COVID-19 during curbside voting at the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners on Locust Street, around the corner from board offices in downtown St. Louis, Monday, Nov. 2, 2020. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
But the development of treatments could be affected if Trump makes good on threats to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease doctor, or other top health officials Trump has clashed with.
Most Americans support mandating mask-wearing in public and think preventing the virus from spreading is a higher priority than protecting the economy, according to AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of over 133,000 voters and nonvoters conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
While several European countries have imposed or proposed new lockdowns and other restrictions to control surging cases, Trump has resisted those approaches and has focused on rebuilding the economy.
Absent a national pandemic strategy, curbing virus spread in the U.S. will depend on more Americans taking necessary precautions and the upcoming holiday season will make that a challenge, said Dr. Cedric Dark, an emergency physician in Houston.
“It’s going to be Thanksgiving, winter break for college students, Christmas time and Hannukah,” but families may have to resist close get-togethers this year, he said. Outbreaks on college campuses mean many students may be bringing the virus home and spreading it to parents and grandparents, he said.
Dark, who hasn’t seen his parents in over a year, has had to adjust his own holiday plans. This year, Thanksgiving will be in his parents’ garage, with the door up, chairs at least 6 feet apart, and a space heater if needed.
“We can at least see each other, from a distance,” Dark said.
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A viral clip from Detroit clergyman Dr. Steven Bland illustrates the power of the Black vote
While the fate of the nation hangs in the balance as the presidency of the United States has yet to be definitively decided, protesters in Detroit tried to stop votes from being counted.
They stormed the TCF Center in Detroit to try to challenge the votes that as of this evening had swung Michigan to Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Republican protesters were stopped at the doors as they sought to gain entry at the arena now being used to count votes in the already contested presidential election. Both Democrats and Republicans were denied entry as officials said the venue was over capacity. There were also representatives from the Michigan ACLU, the League of Women Voters, and non-partisan challengers, all of whom are allowed to challenge votes. Michigan election law allows for 134 challenges per organization.
At issue were 25,000 uncounted ballots as of 6 p.m., mostly from Detroiters who are expected to vote Democratic and thus pulling closer to a Biden victory.
That the blue-collar, predominantly Black inner city was likely the area that could help ensure Biden’s arrival in the Oval Office was not lost on Rev. Steve Bland, the senior pastor of Detroit’s Liberty Baptist Church. He was interviewed outside of the venue and what he said immediately went viral.
“We are in the process of getting all the votes counted,” he told an MSNBC reporter on Wednesday. “The road of victory of any side is going to come through Michigan and through Detroit. And to stop the votes is to stop the very democracy that these persons are running to elect to uphold. So we want every vote to count because our vote is our voice and it will be counted, and the election process will be done.”
He continued: “Things are secure on the inside, but of course we have intimidating efforts on the outside but we’re not deterred. As goes Detroit will go Michigan. And Michigan will join the force of others to be able to say we are voting. And if you want to have record turnout and if you want to represent Michigan and Detroit you ought to want every vote counted.”
Chaplain in Detroit on the “stop the count” protests:
“We’re not deterred … The Black vote in Detroit is higher than it’s ever been and we will determine the outcome — because we’ve gone from picking cotton to picking presidents.” #Election2020pic.twitter.com/J4CLPf21yL
The interviewer then asked Bland, “Who do you think these people are?”
He answered: “These are persons who are passionate and they are consistent. They’ve been saying all along they’re going to suggest that’s its rigged, it’s flawed or fake, they’ve been saying that before now. We just need to be persistent, to make sure our voice gets counted because as goes Detroit, will be done so. And I will say, the Black vote in Detroit is higher than it’s ever been, and we will determine the outcome because we’ve gone from picking cotton to picking presidents.”
The pastor was part of a group of “poll chaplains” whose presence was to ensure and encourage voters and to help make sure the votes were counted.
As it turned out, Bland was correct as the inner city and close suburbs near Detroit helped carry the state, according to numbers reported by the New York Times. Wayne County, which includes metro Detroit and the close suburbs of Oakland County, combined for almost 2 million largely Democratic votes despite a slew of counties voting Republican in the state.
Despite any protests, as it stands now, the state of Michigan has gone to Biden, swinging the state back to blue after President Donald Trump‘s victory there in 2016. It’s one of three states, with Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, that Biden declared as part of the “blue wall” that would take him to the presidency.
Biden is now inching closer to a victory by winning two of three with the outcome in Pennsylvania still unclear as they complete their count of mail-in ballots. However, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania were still in play as of Wednesday night and could still provide a victory, most likely for Biden, though Trump is already challenging counts in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia.
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On the latest episode of ‘Dear Culture,’ special hosts Dr. Christina M. Greer and Dr. Jason Johnson break down the highly contested presidential election
In preparation for Election Day and its aftermath, theGrio political contributors Dr. Christina M. Greer and Dr. Jason Johnson will be steering the Dear Culture Podcast ship with their political expertise.
With an estimated record amount of 160 million votes for this year’s presidential election, this nation is still at a question mark with who our next president will be. As the country prepares for what is to come in the next four years, all eyes are on swing states.
From Pennsylvania, Michigan to the recently flipped state of Arizona, the 2020 election is running real tight between Democratic nominee Joe Biden and Republican presidential incumbent DonaldTrump. So this week on the Dear Culture Podcast, our political hosts Greer and Johnson talk presidential predictions and what to potentially expect as votes continue to be counted.
Tune in as we ask, “Dear Culture, why don’t we have the election results yet?”
“The election doesn’t really start, until some states flip.” says Johnson, professor of politics at Morgan State University.
As predicted, the swing states hold the key to our nation’s electoral outcome. As our hosts go through state by state, theGrio’s politics editor, Dr. Greer, said she has “never factored Florida” into her electoral calculus. For Democrats, Greer recommends the Obama model of winning 270 electoral votes without Florida, which traditionally votes red.
“This was not a persuasion election,” says Johnson. “If you’re the kind of person who thinks Biden is a socialist, you were never going to vote for a Democrat anyway.”
Additionally, Georgia, which also has two Senate races likely heading to a run-off, has not gone blue since President BillClinton won it in 1992. And though the voter turn-out in Georgia was significant, the state is still marred with a recent history of voter suppression.
A Gwinnett county voter casts a ballot at Lucky Shoals Park polling station on November 3, 2020 in Norcross, Georgia. After a record-breaking early voting turnout, Americans head to the polls on the last day to cast their vote for incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump or Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. (Photo by Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)
Interestingly, on Election Day in Fulton County a pipe broke at 5:30 a.m. and it wasn’t fixed, causing the counting of ballots to be delayed until Friday. Whether shenanigans or incompetence, Greer and Johnson both think hopes for a Blue Georgia is yet to come. As of now, the most is pushing the dial to purple.
The situation in North Carolina is “strange” to Greer and Johnson at the very least. Black U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan has been ordering Postmaster Louis Dejoy to ensure high-speed mailing machines, reverse limitations on mail collection, and since yesterday bring 300,000 certified mailed-in ballots to polling locations.
“Whatever the small margins are, whether it’s the Senate or president race, you got 300,000 ballots that can be split between Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina,” says Johnson.
As votes continue to be counted and news develops, Dr. Greer jokingly reminds us that “this country is full of Chicken Littles.” Not only is “the sky not falling,” she says, but the people are alive and will be OK whatever the outcome. Either way, she said, there’s still a lot of work to be done.
Tune in Dear Culture, the smart, reliable Black news podcast. Now streaming on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Stitcher.
Ballot measures were approved in California to restrict commercial use of user data and in Michigan to require warrants for searches of electronic information.
from Wired https://ift.tt/3oXSRB3
via Gabe's Musing's
The drug measures were among 120 proposed state laws and constitutional amendments that were on the ballot in 32 states
A nationwide push to relax drug laws took a significant step forward Tuesday as more states legalized marijuana for adults and voters made Oregon the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of street drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.
The drug measures were among 120 proposed state laws and constitutional amendments that were on the ballot in 32 states. They touched on an array of issues that have roiled politics in recent years — voting rights, racial inequalities, abortion, taxes and education, to name a few.
But none directly dealt with the dominant theme of 2020 — the coronavirus pandemic. That’s because the process to put measures on the ballot began, in most cases, before the virus surged to the forefront.
The Oregon drug initiative will allow people arrested with small amounts of hard drugs to avoid going to trial, and possible jail time, by paying a $100 fine and attending an addiction recovery program. The treatment centers will be funded by revenues from legalized marijuana, which was approved in Oregon several years ago.
“Today’s victory is a landmark declaration that the time has come to stop criminalizing people for drug use,” said Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which backed the measure.
The proposal was endorsed by the Oregon Democratic Party, as well as some nurses and physician associations. The Oregon Republican Party had denounced the drug decriminalization measure as radical, and some prosecutors called it reckless.
Oregon voters also approved a measure making the state the first to legalize the therapeutic use of psychedelic mushrooms.
Voters in New Jersey and Arizona approved measures legalizing marijuana for adults age 21 and older. In New Jersey, the Legislature now will have to pass another measure setting up the new marijuana marketplace. The Arizona measure also allows people convicted of certain marijuana crimes to seek expungement of their records. Passage signaled a change of attitudes, after Arizona voters there narrowly defeated a legal pot proposal in 2016.
Recreational marijuana measures also were ahead in the polls in Montana and narrowly leading in South Dakota. A separate medical marijuana initiative passed in South Dakota and was leading in Mississippi.
A decade ago, recreational marijuana was illegal in all 50 states. Voters allowed it in Colorado and Washington in 2012, sparking a movement that already included 11 states and Washington, D.C., heading into Tuesday’s elections. Supporters hope additional victories, especially in conservative states, could build pressure for Congress to legalize marijuana nationwide.
Two states considered anti-abortion amendments with different results.
Louisiana voters passed a measure asserting there is no state constitutional right to abortion — something that could come into play if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
In Colorado, by contrast, voters defeated a measure to prohibit abortions after 22 weeks unless the pregnant woman’s life is endangered. Previous Colorado ballot initiatives to limit abortion also failed in 2008, 2010 and 2014.
Richard Mahoney of the Pro-Life Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and American Holocaust Museum holds a crucifix during a protest vigil sponsored by The Christian Defense Coalition and Priests for Life outside of the Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Carol Whitehill Moses Center on January 17, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)
Several states also were considering measures affecting voting rights.
A Virginia constitutional amendment ahead in the polls would take power away from members of the Democratic-led Legislature to draw voting districts for themselves and members of Congress based on census results. It instead would create a bipartisan commission of lawmakers and citizens to develop a redistricting plan that the Legislature could approve or reject, but not change.
Virginia is the sixth state in the past two general election cycles to vote on measures intended to prevent gerrymandering — a process in which politicians draw voting districts to benefit themselves or their political parties. Voters in Missouri, which passed a redistricting reform measure in 2018, were deciding Tuesday whether to roll back key parts of it before it can be used next year.
The Missouri measure would repeal a nationally unique model to employ a nonpartisan demographer to draw state House and Senate districts to achieve “partisan fairness” and “competitiveness.” Republicans who control the Legislature put forth a new ballot measure this year that would return redistricting duties to a pair of bipartisan commissions and drop “partisan fairness” and “competitiveness” to the end of the criteria.
In Florida, voters approved a measure gradually increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026. The measure puts Florida in line with at least seven other states — California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York — and Washington, D.C., which already have enacted laws to gradually boost the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
In Mississippi, voters approved a proposal for a new state flag with a magnolia design. The vote came after legislators in June ended the use of a flag bearing a Confederate battle emblem. In Rhode Island, whose official name is “Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,” voters were deciding whether to eliminate the final three words, which some say evoke a legacy of slavery.
Tax proposals were on the ballot in more than a dozen states, including higher property taxes on California businesses and higher income taxes on the wealthy in Illinois and Arizona. The additional tax revenue in Arizona would fund pay raises for teachers and other school personnel.
Among the many California ballot issues was one asking voters to repeal a 1996 initiative that prohibits affirmative action programs granting preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in public employment, education or contracting.
___
Associated Press writer Andrew Selsky contributed to this report.
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Joe Biden has accused President Trump of being ‘terrified’ of what will happen in the state
Republican legislature in Pennsylvania, a crucial presidential battleground, refused to allow counties to begin processing absentee ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day.
The controversial move is sure to cause chaotic delays, reporting inconsistencies, and legal challenges, ABC News reports. The state isn’t expected to have every vote counted until Friday, at the earliest.
“We’re already trying to run a successful in-person election on Election Day,” said Lisa Schaefer, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. “Trying to add processing of mail-in ballots on Election Day basically means we’re trying to run two elections at the same time.”
Will Donald Trump repeat his Pennsylvania victory from four years ago or will Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden bag the 20 electoral votes in his home state? Time will soon tell.
“What’s most important is that we have accurate results and that every vote is counted, even if that takes a little longer,” Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said an hour after polls closed. “So I’m urging Pennsylvania to just remain calm, be patient, stay united on election night and in the days ahead.”
theGRIO previously reported, during a campaign stomp in Pennsylvania on Sunday, Biden said Trump is “terrified” of the possible election results.
According to the New York Post, Pennsylvania proves to be one of the most pivotal battleground states in the presidential election. Biden urged his supporters to vote during a drive-in rally in a Philadelphia church parking lot.
“President Trump is terrified of what will happen in Pennsylvania,” Biden said. “He knows if you have your say, he doesn’t stand a chance.”
Biden also warned of GOP efforts to “suppress” voter turnout while addressing how Trump gained Pennsylvania in the 2016 election by nearly 44,000 votes.
“Every day — every day — is a new reminder of how high the stakes are, of how far the other side will go to try to suppress the turnout, especially here in Philadelphia,” Biden said.
Meanwhile, two federal lawsuits filed by Republican lawmakers aim to prevent absentee votes that arrive after polls close Tuesday from being counted, PBS reports.
At least eight Pennsylvania counties won’t start processing ballots until Wednesday morning: Beaver, Cumberland, Franklin, Greene, Juniata, Mercer, Monroe, and Montour. Trump won these counties in 2016, except for Monroe.
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The. U.S. Postal Service is arguing that the judge’s order would be disruptive to its Election Day operations and that it had ‘physical and operational limitations’
WHAT HAPPENED:
The U.S. Postal Service says it can’t meet a federal judge’s order to sweep processing centers for undelivered mail-in ballots. It is arguing that doing so would be disruptive to its Election Day operations and that it had “physical and operational limitations.”
THE SIGNIFICANCE:
Disputes about mail ballots, particularly those received after Election Day, could be the fuel for court fights over election results in some states.
U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan’s order came after weeks of bruising court decisions for an agency that has become heavily politicized under its new leader, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. DeJoy, a major GOP donor, made a series of controversial policy changes in the summer that delayed mail nationwide, fueling worry about the service’s ability to handle the unprecedented crush of mail-in ballots.
(Credit: Judge Emmet G. Sullivan/ Getty Images)
At the same time, President Donald Trump has baselessly attacked mail voting as fraudulent throughout his campaign.
Much of Sullivan’s order hinged on postal data showing roughly 300,000 mail-in ballots in several states, including battleground states Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin, had not received scans showing they had been delivered. The agency has disputed the accuracy of the figure, saying it has pushed to ensure same-day local delivery of ballots by circumventing certain processing steps entirely, leaving them without the final delivery scan.
Sullivan had given the agency until Tuesday afternoon to search 27 facilities in several battleground areas for outstanding ballots and send out those votes immediately.
The Postal Service said it had already conducted rounds of morning checks at all its processing hubs. Further, the agency said has been performing daily reviews of all 220 facilities handling election mail and planned another sweep hours before polling places closed Tuesday.
The judge accepted the agency’s response but set a Wednesday hearing “to discuss the apparent lack of compliance with the court’s order.”
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Officers in Graham, North Carolina are being sued for voter intimidation and violation of constitutional rights, according to BuzzFeed. Over 200 people attended the I Am Change event that took place this past weekend. The event was designed to encourage voters to get to the polls on the last day of early voting.
During the event, marchers paused for eight minutes and 46 seconds of silence, the amount of time former police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd’s neck. Marchers say officers began to pepper-spray them after that.
“The police violence in Graham, N.C. perpetrated against a group of peaceful and primarily Black protestors over the weekend is yet another clear violation of the right to free speech and the right to vote,” per a statement by Kristen Clarke, the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
The lawsuit says the force used by Graham police chief Kristy Cole and Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson against the marchers violates the First, Fourth, and 15th Amendments and other voter laws. It was filed on behalf of Edith Ann Jones, Rev. Gregory Drumwright, and Justice for the Next Generation and is supported by the North Carolina ACLU.
(Adobe Stock)
In a press release, the Graham Police Department said they asked protestors to get out of the road after the tribute to Floyd because traffic began to back up and when they refused, things escalated. The group moved to another area but police shut down the march for ‘conduct’ police deemed unsafe and when the crowd refused to disperse, they made arrests and pepper-sprayed them again. The police said they issued a warning before they took action, but the lawsuit says they did not.
“During the rally, the Graham Police Department made eight arrests for different offenses to include resist delay and obstruct, failure to disperse, and one count of assault on a law enforcement officer,” a portion of the statement read. “Demographic details will be released on a later date. Prior to this march the Graham Police Department initially had contact with the organizer. However, the organizer failed to establish viable communication with our department for the planning portion of the rally.”
They also say the organizer agreed that marchers would be strictly prohibited from blocking roadways.
Marchers say they won’t be deterred and the defendants who have brought the lawsuit intend to ensure voting rights for the future.
“Racially motivated attacks on peaceful demonstrators is a form of grotesque voter intimidation and we cannot continue to let these acts of violence continue,” Clarke said.
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Cori Bush defeated longtime Rep. William Lacy Clay over the summer in a primary
Cori Bush, an activist who became nationally-known as she protested the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, has been elected to Congress.
Bush was the projected winner in the 1st Congressional District between Republican Anthony Rogers and Libertarian Alex Furman,The New York Timesreports. Her win was immediately welcomed on Twitter by progressives who have championed her campaign.
“It’s official. The first-ever recruited Justice Democrat candidate @CoriBush is going to Congress. Six years ago police officers maced Cori in Ferguson as she helped spark a global movement,” the political action committee Justice Democrats tweeted.
“Three months from now she’ll be holding police accountable as a member of Congress.”
It's official. The first-ever recruited Justice Democrat candidate @CoriBush is going to Congress.
Six years ago police officers maced Cori in Ferguson as she helped spark a global movement.
Three months from now she’ll be holding police accountable as a member of Congress. pic.twitter.com/Fskoa1QQ65
Earlier in the day, Bush spoke of her expected win and the honor that would come with being the first Black woman congressman elected to represent Missouri. She cast her ballot wearing a mask that had Breonna Taylor’s image emblazoned on it.
“I am humbled and honored to be a part of this day, but to also be on this historical ballot as the Democratic nominee for the first district here in Missouri — poised to be the first Black congresswoman from the state of Missouri, the first woman from this district ever, the first Missouri nurse, and the first activist fighting for Black lives going to Congress,” she said, according to the St. Louis American.
Missouri Democratic Congressional Nominee Cori Bush speaks during a canvassing event on November 1, 2020 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
Bush’s personal history struck a cord with voters. She was once homeless and became a Black Lives Matter activist following Brown’s death at the hands of former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in August of 2014.
As theGrioreported, Bush, 44, shocked the political establishment over the summer when she defeated longtime Rep. William Lacy Clay in Missouri’s Democratic primary in August after a previous loss to Lacey in 2018.
“They counted us out,” she said after the primary victory. “They called me — I’m just the protester, I’m just the activist with no name, no title, and no real money. That’s all they said that I was. But St. Louis showed up today.”
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The incumbent defeated Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison, an associate chairman of the Democratic National Committee
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has secured a fourth term in the U.S. Senate.
The incumbent defeated Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison, an associate chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Harrison’s massive fundraising broke records in the race, allowing the challenger to dominate airwaves and mount a significant ground effort. Some polling in the campaign’s closing weeks showed a head-to-head race.
But Graham mustered support across South Carolina, where all statewide offices are held by Republicans and support for President Donald Trump remains strong.
As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he occupied a national television platform for days during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — After a monthslong deluge of advertising, attacks and animosity, voters are choosing between Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison in South Carolina’s most expensive Senate contest.
Seeking his fourth term, Graham on Tuesday faced his most stalwart general election opponent to date in Harrison, a fundraising powerhouse and associate Democratic National Committee chairman who also chaired the state Democratic Party and worked as a lobbyist.
The contest has been propelled by an onslaught of spending from both candidates and a slew of third-party groups.
Republican incumbent Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to supporters at the Charleston County Victory Office during a campaign bus tour on October 31, 2020 in Charleston, South Carolina. Graham is in a closely watched race against democratic challenger Jaime Harrison. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
Graham told The Associated Press on Saturday that he also has raised about $100 million, and his third-quarter haul of $28 million represented a quarterly record for any GOP Senate candidate.
Having defeated all previous opponents by double-digit margins, Graham acknowledges, “This is the biggest challenge that I have ever faced,” with some polls showing a neck-and-neck contest.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, Harrison’s self-described “political dad” and mentor, described the Democrat’s campaign as a textbook example of how to develop and implement a winning agenda. He predicted a “good night for Democrats” up and down the ticket.
“Holding the House would just be status quo,” Clyburn told reporters outside a polling place in Columbia. “Winning the Senate would make it good.”
Tim Orr, an asphalt contractor from Lexington, said he was voting to reelect President Donald Trump after a small business loan and his $1,200 stimulus check helped keep him afloat following the pandemic.
Orr, 63, was less enthusiastic about Graham, citing his uneven support of Trump, but didn’t want to throw the race to Harrison.
“He’s got to be left where he’s at,” he said of Graham.
Helen Sims, 49, who works at a Wal-Mart, cast her ballot for Harrison on Tuesday, saying Graham should have helped Americans struggling through the pandemic before prioritizing the Supreme Court hearings. She said Harrison’s upbringing and his youthful energy will lead to better outcomes for working people.
“We have walked in Jaime’s shoes,” said Sims, who is Black. “Jaime’s compassionate.”
Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison adjusts his mask while speaking to the media after a drive-in rally on October 17, 2020 in North Charleston, South Carolina. Harrison is running against incumbent Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). (Photo by Cameron Pollack/Getty Images)
The astronomic money has amounted to constant digital and broadcast advertising, as well as mailers. Harrison has used some of his copious cash to try to steer conservative voters toward Bill Bledsoe — a Constitution Party candidate who dropped out to endorse Graham, but whose name remains on ballots — in an attempt to cleave votes from the Republican. Bledsoe has asked Harrison to “cease and desist” from what he calls dishonest “dirty tricks” advertising.
The undercurrent of the recent battle over Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s third U.S. Supreme Court nominee, has also been a factor. As Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Graham oversaw that contentious process, where televised hearings kept him in the national spotlight for weeks.
Harrison, meanwhile, has portrayed the 65-year-old Graham as a career politician too far removed from his constituents’ lives.
“It seems like our senator doesn’t understand the dignity of hard work because instead of working hard for South Carolina, he goes golfing with the president,” Harrison said during a recent Columbia drive-in rally.
Harrison, 44, has also highlighted Graham’s previous opposition to election-year high court nominations, including a 2018 video in which he said, “If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump’s term, and the primary process has started, we’ll wait to the next election.”
His reversal after Barrett’s nomination, Harrison has said, means Graham’s “word is worthless.”
Throughout his 25-year Capitol Hill career, Graham has handily defeated primary challengers who accused him of not being conservative enough for the state, where Republicans control both legislative chambers and hold all statewide offices and most congressional seats.
Graham was too conciliatory, critics argued, too ready to work out bipartisan deals. But his burgeoning relationship with Trump has helped elevate his own position with some of those detractors. A group composed of voters from myriad organizations with tea party roots held a press conference to endorse the senator against Harrison, citing anti-abortion issues and Graham’s work to confirm conservative justices as some of their reasons.
More than a million South Carolinians have already voted in this year’s general election, with absentee voting obliterating records from 2016. One of them, 72-year-old Harold Riggs of Lexington, said he was disappointed several years ago by Graham’s anti-Trump statements but said that now Graham has proven his loyalty to the president, noting his leadership during Barrett’s confirmation.
Of Harrison, Riggs said, “He’s telling all kinds of lies.”
“Even though he’s got a sweet smile,” his wife, Joyce, interjected.
___
Michelle Liu, a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, contributed to this report from Lexington, S.C. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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The actor opened up about his experience as a first-time voter this week, sharing his thoughts on the future and what role he believes his generation will play in shaping it.
”I feel like Gen Z, my generation, is a very capable generation, you know? We see a lot more than people realize and we are working to change a lot more than people realize,” he told PEOPLE. “It’s very important to us.”
The When They See Us star who is also featured on the new Netflix series Social Distance knows the importance of using his voice for change.
Asante Blackk in ‘Social Distance’ (Netflix)
“The country is the most divided [it has been in a really long time. We haven’t seen this at all, where people are so divided on these issues,” he said.
“A lot of times we feel like we don’t have the power to change anything in this country, but that feeling is what really stops us….They want us to feel that we are powerless so that we don’t use the power we have.”
The young star also shared his thoughts on celebrities involving themselves in politics.
”Politics isn’t this fancy thing, it’s really just your livelihood. It’s really how you live your life from day to day, what your experiences are, what you want to change in your own life and what you don’t like that the current government is doing. That’s really what it is,” he said.
“We see these things, we feel these things, we hear these things and that’s why we try to push back and fight as much as we can. I feel like it would almost be stupid of us to sit on the sidelines and act like we don’t see it when we do.”
There have been about 10 million calls and sometimes texts sent out to voters across the country according to The Washington Post. The origins of the calls are still unknown but the FBI is looking into the matter.
In swing state Michigan, calls seemed particularly targeted to intimidate prospective voters, prompting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to announce Tuesday that the state will “work quickly to stamp out misinformation.”
“I Voted” stickers for voters on their way out at Ball Arena on November 3, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. After a record-breaking early voting turnout, Americans head to the polls on the last day to cast their vote for incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump or Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. (Photo by Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)
The New York Times cybersecurity reporter says that some calls told potential voters they’d be arrested if they tried to exercise their civic duty.
“Some disturbing developments: In addition to the robocalls, voters in Flint, Michigan are getting threatening live calls telling them to stay home or face arrests at the polls. The calls, which have also been reported in Iowa, are (obviously) not true, says Michigan AG office.”
Some disturbing developments: In addition to the robocalls, voters in Flint, Michigan are getting threatening live calls telling them to stay home or face arrests at the polls. The calls, which have also been reported in Iowa, are (obviously) not true, says Michigan AG office.
Technology experts are saying the timing of the calls is concerning and that these tactics have been seen in previous election years. On Tuesday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel also posted a warning to Michigan residents that the information in the calls and texts are false.
“Dearborn voters, text messages are reportedly being sent to trick you into thinking there are ballot sensor issues. Do not fall for it, it’s a trick!”
[AG ELECTION ALERT]: Dearborn voters, text messages are reportedly being sent to trick you into thinking there are ballot sensor issues. Do not fall for it, it's a trick! Visit https://t.co/7MBWZSJ4Zd and follow @MichSoS for any updates. pic.twitter.com/NEot16yIqD
— Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (@MIAttyGen) November 2, 2020
The Washington Post identified voters in Georgia, Philadelphia and Nebraska and Indiana who’d received similar robocalls.
The outlet reports that people have been receiving “ stay safe and stay home” calls around the country since the summer and as many as a half-million calls have been going out each day. The calls typically feature a computerized female voice urging folks to stay home and identifies itself as a ‘test call.’ The calls come from unknown numbers and have been received by people in countries outside the US.
“If you wanted to cause havoc in America for the elections, one way to do it is clearly robocalling,” Alex Quilici, chief executive at YouMail, creator of a robocall-blocking app, told The Washington Post. YouMail’s data shows that 280 of the country’s 317 area codes have received the calls. They do not appear to originate from the US, the company says. “This whole thing is exposing [that] it can be very difficult to react quickly to a large calling volume campaign.”
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McConnell touted his leadership post and close ties to Trump as a political asset for Kentucky as he sought a seventh term
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump won Kentucky in his bid for reelection Tuesday, and his chief ally on Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, was reelected to a seventh term in Kentucky on Election Day. Other races include all six Kentucky House seats, a seat on the Kentucky Supreme Court and two constitutional amendments. In the House, Republican incumbents Hal Rogers of the 5th District, James Comer of the 1st District, Brett Guthrie in the 2nd District and Thomas Massie of the 4th District all won reelection.
PRESIDENT
Republican President Donald Trump defeated Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden to carry Kentucky, a state where the GOP has dominated federal elections for more than 20 years. That includes the last presidential election, when Trump carried Kentucky by 30 percentage points. The last Democrat to carry Kentucky was Bill Clinton in 1996. Neither candidate campaigned in Kentucky, instead focusing on swing states elsewhere.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell defeated Democrat Amy McGrath, a retired Marine combat pilot, to cap a bruising, mega-spending campaign in Kentucky. McConnell touted his leadership post and close ties to Trump as a political asset for Kentucky as he sought a seventh term. McGrath ran as a political outsider and supports term limits for senators. She described McConnell’s decades-long Senate career as a symptom of what ails American politics.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks with reporters after the Senate approved a nearly $500 billion coronavirus aid bill on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
HOUSE RACES
Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr and Democratic challenger Josh Hicks are vying for the 6th District seat in central Kentucky. For decades, the district stretching from the bluegrass region to the Appalachian foothills had swung between Republicans and Democrats, but lately it has stayed in GOP hands. Barr, who has been a target of national Democrats, has been a loyal supporter of President Donald Trump. Hicks is an attorney who previously served as a Marine and police officer. He’s a former Republican who says he switched parties because of GOP policies favoring the wealthy. In the 5th District, incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers defeated Democratic challenger Matthew Ryan Best. The 4th District incumbent, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who drew Trump’s ire on coronavirus relief, defeated Democratic challenger Alexandra Owensby. The 3rd District candidates include incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth and Republican challenger Rhonda Palazzo. The 2nd District incumbent, Republican U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, won another term over Democratic challenger Hank Linderman. In the 1st District Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. James Comer defeated Democratic challenger James Rhodes.
LEGISLATURE
Republicans appear poised to maintain overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Kentucky General Assembly. Democrats are targeting suburban districts in hopes of whittling away at the GOP’s strength in rural districts. Republican Rep. Jason Nemes of Louisville is in a tough reelection fight and Democrats are hoping to pick up the Lexington seat of retiring GOP Rep. Stan Lee. A state Senate race in eastern Kentucky features candidates with the same last name. Democratic Sen. Johnny Ray Turner is being challenged by Republican Johnnie Turner.
President Donald Trump speaks at a rally on November 02, 2020 in Avoca, Pennsylvania. Donald Trump is crossing the crucial state of Pennsylvania in the last days of campaigning before Americans go to the polls on November 3rd to vote. Trump is currently trailing his opponent Joe Biden in most national polls. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
SUPREME COURT
Kentucky lawmaker Chris Harris and Circuit Judge Robert Conley are vying to represent a Supreme Court district in eastern Kentucky. Harris, a Democrat, has represented Martin County and part of Pike County in the House since 2015. As an attorney he has argued cases in state and federal courtrooms across the state. Conley hears cases as a circuit judge in Greenup and Lewis counties. He was recently reprimanded by the state’s Judicial Conduct Commission, in part for throwing a man in jail for three days for contempt of court without conducting a hearing.
One amendment known as Marsy’s law would add a series of crime victims’ rights to Kentucky’s Constitution. The measure was a reprise of a 2018 constitutional amendment that cleared the legislature and was approved by Kentucky voters, but was voided when the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the wording was too vague. It’s worded differently this time, but would have similar effects. It would guarantee, among other things, that crime victims have the right to timely notification of court proceedings. Another amendment would lengthen the terms of district judges and state prosecutors. It calls for district judges, who currently serve four-year terms, to start serving eight-year terms in 2022. It also would increase the time they have to be a licensed attorney before becoming a judge. In addition, the amendment would add two years to the term of a commonwealth’s attorney.
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Supporters of Kamala Harris in Thulasendrapuram, India, a village about an eight-hour drive from Chennai can’t vote for her in the presidential election but they’ve found another way to show their support.
Thulasendrapuram is the village where Harris’ maternal grandfather was born. So on Tuesday, as many Americans are heading to the polls to support Harris, some people in Thulasendrapuram are doing so through prayer. Dozens of folks gathered at a Hindu temple to say prayers and deliver flowers and jasmine in support of Harris on election day.
“She is the daughter of the village’s soil,’ a housewife named Lalitha, told the New York Times. “The position she has attained is unbelievable.”
After the good luck ceremony ended, people gathered to enjoy idli and sambar, South Indian dishes elders say are a favorite of Senator Harris.
Presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris listens as presumptive Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden speaks following a coronavirus briefing with health experts at the Hotel DuPont on August 13, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. Harris is the first Black woman and first person of Indian descent to be a presumptive nominee on a presidential ticket by a major party in U.S. history. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Harris’ father’s side of the family is Jamaican and Floridian Jamaicans have also been very vocal in their support.
According to NBC News, Jamaicans in the battleground state are showing her love.
“She is a wife, a stepmom, an auntie, she can cook, she can dance,” said Rep. Anika Omphroy, who is a first-generation Jamaican like Harris. “She has a good sense of humor and appeals to working-class people, to the middle class, as well as corporate men and women. She is able to relate to everyone.”
In 2020, Florida has about 14 million registered voters and 29 electoral votes. So as Joe Biden and Harris target the state’s Latin voters they are also honing in on the Caribbean community such as the one in Broward County. The mostly Democratic community not only wants to support a fellow Jamaican but also defeat Trump.
According to Antoinette Henry, director of corporate relations at the Dutch Pot Jamaican Restaurant that has locations throughout South Florida, folks are coming out to support Harris even if they don’t usually vote.
“The fact she has a lineage means you are going to see a lot of Jamaicans voting even if they were not doing so before. Part of Jamaica will be in the White House,” Henry told NBC.
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Justin Dunn was legally carrying a firearm but loitered at the Charlotte site after voting Tuesday morning, which prompted a precinct official to call police
In North Carolina, an armed man loitering at a polling site on Election Day has been arrested and charged with trespassing.
Thirty-six-year-old Justin Dunn was legally carrying a firearm but loitered at the Charlotte site after voting Tuesday morning, which prompted a precinct official to call police over fears of voter intimidation. A precinct official accompanied by a police officer asked him to leave the site and banned him from the location.
Justin Dunn (Source: Mecklenburg County Jail)
Police say Dunn left the precinct but returned about two hours later. He was taken into custody and charged with second-degree trespassing.
