New Hampshire legislature overrides governor’s veto, passing death penalty ban into law, joins 20 other states which no long use it. “… in both 2000 and 2018, a bill banning executions passed legislature but was struck down by the sitting governors.” https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/30/18646033/new-hampshire-just-became-the-21st-state-to-abolish-the-death-penalty
Governor of Louisiana, a Democrat, signs off on anti-abortion bill. “The fetal heartbeat abortion ban applies to pregnancies as early as six weeks…. and does not include exceptions for women who were victims of rape and incest.” https://www.foxnews.com/politics/louisianas-governor-a-democrat-signs-heartbeat-abortion-bill-into-law I think the DNC’s centrism push just went off track.
Supreme Court declines to stay execution of Alabama man by a vote of 5 to 4. “(Christopher) Price had argued the lethal injection protocol would cause him severe pain and asked that the state use lethal gas as an alternative. Two lower courts agreed to put the execution on hold.” https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/30/us/christopher-lee-price-execution-alabama/index.html
Republicans accused of blocking election security bills. “Election security bills have been languishing in Congress for months, due in large part to Republicans who do not want to shine a light on Russia’s actions and risk the fury of President Trump.” https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/446257-mueller-remarks-put-renewed-focus-on-election-security-bills
Governor of Nevada vetoes bill that would have included the state in the ‘popular vote compact’. “Gov. Steve Sisolak – who earlier this year was sworn in as the first Democratic governor in Nevada in more than two decades — warned that the proposal (to award all of the state’s electoral votes to whichever candidate wins the popular vote) ‘could diminish the role of smaller states like Nevada in national electoral contests’.” https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dems-nationwide-effort-to-override-electoral-college-hits-major-stumble-in-nevada
JPMorgan settles with male employees who say they were denied parental leave. “The resolution is the ‘first class-action lawsuit to settle discrimination claims for a class of fathers who claim they were denied the opportunity to receive equal paid parent leave given to mothers’, the ACLU said in its statement.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pmorgan-chase-to-pay-5-million-to-male-employees-who-say-they-were-unfairly-denied-parental-leave/
Louisiana state trooper shoots driver who made an illegal turn and then drove the wrong way on a one-way street. “Multiple witnesses told WWL-TV that they saw the trooper shoot the driver after (he ignored) orders to stop the vehicle, which crashed into a pole following the gunfire.” https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/crime_police/article_6727c70c-8339-11e9-8c52-f3f6502eec1f.html
North Korea reportedly executed five diplomats over failed nuclear weapons summit with President Trump in Hanoi. “Kim Hyok Chol was executed at Mirim Airport in Pyongyang, along with four foreign ministry executives, in March after they were all charged with spying for the United States, the Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unidentified North Korean source.” https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/31/kim-jong-un-reportedly-executes-officials-after-hanoi-summit-collapse.html
Many Chinese military leaders opposed 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, says former insider. “Seven commanders signed a letter opposing martial law that they submitted to the Central Military Commission that oversaw the military…. ‘The People’s Liberation Army is the people’s military and it should not enter the city or fire on civilians.'” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/28/world/asia/china-tiananmen-square-massacre.html
Deng Xiaoping is the father of modern China, says reporter who covered the June 4th conflict. “This Beijing massacre ultimately strengthened Deng’s control and froze into place his formula for China’s modernization: one-party dictatorship paired with market-oriented reforms. In other words, a Chinese version of authoritarian capitalism.” https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-china-tiananmen-looking-back-20190530-story.html China continued to be granted free trade access to the U.S. market, which resulted in the gradual gutting of U.S. manufacturing and the emergence of China as an economic superpower.
British politician in court for lying during campaign. “Marcus Ball, an activist who crowdfunded nearly $300,000 to pay for the private prosecution, claimed (Boris) Johnson ‘repeatedly lied and misled the British public as to the cost of E.U. membership’, according to court documents.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/prime-minister-hopeful-boris-johnson-to-appear-in-court-over-allegations-he-lied-in-the-brexit-campaign/2019/05/29/21654760-8200-11e9-933d-7501070ee669_story.html Advertisers can’t get away with lying in ads, so why should politicians?
About 2,500 people have reportedly been sentenced to death in Egypt since the 2013 military coup. “At least 144 death sentences have been carried out by (President) Sisi’s government, which started a crackdown on opposition groups when he came to power six years ago, according to new figures published by the UK-based rights group Reprieve.” https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190528-massive-increase-in-death-sentences-in-sisis-egypt/
Media company uses Digital Millennium Copyright Act to have news story removed from Twitter, as well as comments by other users noting or criticizing that removal. “The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a US-based internet rights group, tweeted its support (for the censored post), noting that the article ‘is a far cry … from an infringement’. The media journalist Mathew Ingram also tweeted the news, calling it ‘disturbing’. Both of those tweets were also removed after requests from Starz. Ingram sent another tweet criticising the removal of his tweet criticising the removal of TorrentFreaks’ tweet. That tweet was also removed after a request from Starz.” https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/apr/15/free-speech-row-us-tv-channel-forces-removal-of-tweets
Uber drivers to rate passengers, and riders with very low scores could be banned from using the app. “The Independent Drivers Guild, which represents thousands of app-based drivers in New York, praised the move by Uber as a way to protect drivers…. ‘For too long there has been one-sided accountability and this is a positive step toward correcting that.'” https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-banning-riders-with-low-ratings-twitter-reaction-2019-5 This should be interesting. I predict VERY few riders will actually be banned, because employees (sorry, ‘independent contractors’) are disposable and customers aren’t.
Latest batch of declassified government documents reveals U.S. knowledge of widespread use of torture during Argentina’s 1976-1983 ‘Dirty War’. “We continue to receive numerous highly credible reports that torture is used routinely in the interrogation of detainees.” https://www.apnews.com/8b9822e4f9b740448b4b95132fac4011
Sudan’s military declares protest site a threat to national security, shuts down Al Jazeera’s local news operation. “In a televised statement, a spokesman of the transitional military council said on Thursday that legal action would be taken against what it called ‘unruly elements’ at the encampment outside the defence ministry, where protesters have been staging a sit-in for weeks.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/sudan-army-protest-site-threat-closes-al-jazeera-office-190530234405647.html
U.S. hit by 500 tornadoes in 30 days. “… officials in seven states issued tornado warnings on Wednesday, making it the 14th straight day of severe weather that’s shattered previous records for the month of May.” https://www.democracynow.org/2019/5/30/headlines/us_battered_by_extreme_weather_with_500_tornadoes_in_30_days
Israel planning to auction off building materials provided by the EU to build classrooms for Palestinian children. “The Civil Administration, the body tasked with running the occupation, tore down and confiscated the classrooms last October.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/31/israel-to-auction-prefab-classrooms-donated-by-eu-to-palestinians
Lawsuit accuses Mississippi’s election rules for statewide offices of being racist. “Mississippi is the only state in the nation to require its statewide candidates to not only win over 50 % of the popular vote, but also prevail in a majority of the state’s 122 House of Representative districts…. no African-Americans (have won) statewide office in over 130 years, despite the state having the highest black population in the country, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Jackson federal court.” https://www.courthousenews.com/black-voters-call-mississippi-election-system-racist/