Aurora, Colorado police release video of pistol whipping of unarmed trespassing suspect, officer chokes man, presses gun to his neck. “The officer… hit (Kyle) Vinson with his pistol at least seven times. One cut on Vinson’s head required six stitches. He later held him by the neck for almost 40 seconds…. Officer (John) Haubert is facing multiple felony charges, including second-degree assault and attempted first-degree assault. Another officer on the scene, Francine Martinez, faces misdemeanor charges for failing to intervene or report the use of force.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/aurora-colorado-police-violent-arrest-video/
Native American man on life support after altercation with Inyo county, California deputies. “George Barlow, 32, was at an empty gas station on the Bishop Paiute Reservation when one of the Inyo County deputies first approached. The sheriff’s own narrative of the incident reveals Barlow wasn’t even their suspect…. In the first body-cam released by cops, a deputy can be seen approaching the gas station pumps and yelling ‘Yo’ to Barlow, who responds with ‘Hi’ before jogging closer. ‘Don’t run at me, bro,’ the cop warns, as Barlow runs toward him. ‘Back up, you’re gonna get tased.’ ‘What do you want?’ Barlow asks as he runs toward the deputy and raises his arms in the air. ‘What are you fucking with me for?’ From there, the cop deploys the taser and things immediately escalate.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/outrage-grows-after-deputies-beat-native-american-man-kill-his-dog “A dog, a pit bull breed, was shot dead by one of the two arresting Inyo County Sheriff deputies while they were attempting to take 32-year-old George Barlow III into custody. There seems to be some confusion as to the dogs ownership. Regardless of who owned the dog, deputies say Barlow charged them along with the pit bull with him after he was seen standing in the otherwise empty parking lot of the gas station…. George Barlow III on life-support. (Photo courtesy of Barlow Family).” https://sierrawave.net/incident-at-chevron-station-in-bishop-involving-inyo-county-sheriff-deputies-sparks-community-outrage/
Whistleblowers says conditions at camp for detained migrant children were grim. “The two said that federal employees also ultimately reached into their own pockets to try and cover a lack of supplies for children after facility managers rejected pleas to buy supplies from a nearby Walmart and Costco. ‘Notwithstanding the dismissive attitudes of federal management and private contractors, a great many federal detailees, out of their own pockets, collectively spent thousands of dollars on supplies for the children,’ the complaint states, adding that ‘other detailees contributed far more, some individually into the thousands.’” https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/565217-us-repeatedly-used-contractors-with-no-childcare-experience-to-run
Biden administration has yet to nominate someone to lead the Federal Communications Commission, leading net neutrality activists to believe they may be ‘running out the clock’ on behalf of the telecom industry. “During his 2020 election campaign, President Biden repeatedly stated that he would reverse a majority of FCC Chair Ajit Pai’s significant broadband and net neutrality decisions during the previous term…. ‘Until President Biden appoints—and the Senate confirms—a third commissioner, the agency will be deadlocked at 2-2. Absent a majority, there will be no substantial policy decisions on matters such as cybersecurity, net neutrality, broadband program reform, and privacy.'” https://www.satellitetoday.com/government-military/2021/07/23/on-the-case-of-president-bidens-missing-fcc-chair-nominee/
Trump-anointed candidate loses Texas special election for U.S. House seat. “Susan Wright’s defeat Tuesday in a Republican runoff with Navy veteran Jake Ellzey dealt a blow to Trump’s aura of invincibility as a Republican kingmaker. It’s critical to his 2022 midterm endorsements and continued hold on the GOP.” https://news.yahoo.com/trump-allies-blame-conservative-leader-182801994.html The incumbent reportedly died of covid-19.
Editorial writer suggests that if Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is going to vote like a Republican, maybe she should just become a Republican. “Now she’s even torching the Democrats’ budget reconciliation bill which wouldn’t require the blessing of any Republican…. It’s a lethal blow to President Joe Biden’s package that includes – among things – money to expand Medicare, to pay for universal pre-kindergarten, caregiving for the disabled and elderly.” https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/elviadiaz/2021/07/28/sinema-just-torched-reconciliation-plan-she-really-democrat/5409137001/ It also includes serious money for climate action programs. “… Senate Democrats this week announced a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill that would contain several major climate proposals, including a clean electricity standard, a crackdown on fossil fuel subsidies and a new civilian climate corps (E&E Daily, July 15). Sanders called it the ‘most significant effort the country has ever seen’ on climate.” https://www.eenews.net/articles/bernie-sanders-steers-climate-agenda-from-budget-perch/
Alabama congressman who addressed audience at Trump rally before the Capitol riot reveals he was wearing body armor. “On the day of the certification, Jan. 6, (Rep. Mo Brooks)… gave a fiery speech at President Donald Trump’s rally at the Ellipse where he told the assembled crowd that ‘today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass!’ ….’I was warned on Monday that there might be risks associated with the next few days… And when I gave my speech at the Ellipse, I was wearing body armor.” https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/07/mo-brooks-body-armor-jan-6-rally.html Trump rally targeted by antifa assassins, dressed as Trump supporters so they could move undetected within the crowd, but they decided to riot instead? (sarcasm)
Death toll rises from three to six unnamed persons in mysterious Truckee, California private jet crash. “The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday a fourth person may have been killed in the airplane crash near Lake Tahoe on Monday, one more death than authorities previously reported.” https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Officials-probe-whether-fourth-person-was-aboard-16344470.php “The death toll in a plane crash that occurred near a golf course in Truckee, Calif., on Monday, has increased to six, officials said Wednesday…. The Bombardier CL 600 jet crashed while the pilot was attempting to land at Truckee-Tahoe Airport at 1:18 p.m., the FAA said in an email statement Monday…. Officials didn’t share the plane’s origin, but on the report, the FAA listed the tail number, which can be used to look up the plane’s activity log. The plane was traveling from Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, according to Flight Aware.” https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Truckee-plane-crash-fatalities-airport-16347214.php “’We have not released any names yet. Due to the extent of the crash and the resulting fire, we will have to use DNA evidence to confirm the identities. This typically takes a few months. We will send out a release once the information is available,’ the coroner’s office told ABC10.” https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/death-toll-rises-to-6-in-truckee-jet-crash/103-ac312761-490a-4554-8084-e8016fc02d79 No flight log? You don’t have to submit anything to the FAA? The company has no idea who was on their plane or who was flying it? No one screens or keeps track of the passengers? There are no records at all? If someone used a business jet to commit a crime or terror attack, would the FBI would be like, ‘We have no idea who carried out this attack because business jets are not required to submit flight plans or passengers logs. Anyone can evade the extensive TSA security precautions by simply booking a private jet. On the no-fly list? No problem!’ Seems highly unlikely.
Texas governor Greg Abbott suddenly VERY concerned about the spread of coronavirus, after banning cities and schools from imposing mask rules. “Governor Greg Abbott today issued an Executive Order restricting ground transportation of migrants who pose a risk of carrying COVID-19 into Texas communities,” the governor’s office said in a release. “The Executive Order also directed the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to stop any vehicle upon reasonable suspicion of such violation and reroute such vehicles back to its point of origin or a port of entry.” https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-gov-abbott-bans-transportation-migrants-coronavirus-infected Iowa’s Republican governor blames illegal migrants for increase in coronavirus cases. “While public health experts have been citing the virus’ delta variant and lagging U.S. vaccination efforts for the latest coronavirus surge, (Gov. Kim) Reynolds said partial responsibility rests with newcomers coming across the southern border.” https://news.yahoo.com/iowa-gov-kim-reynolds-blames-150800150.html
Los Angeles city ordinance would make homelessness a crime. “The measure, which would replace a similar version known as Municipal Code 41.18, was co-authored by city council members Paul Krekorian and Mark Ridley-Thomas. It would prohibit ‘sitting, lying, or sleeping or storing, using, maintaining, or placing personal property in the public right-of-way.’ There are approximately 40,000 unhoused Angelenos who would be impacted by the ordinance…” https://www.businessinsider.com/los-angeles-city-council-votes-in-favor-of-antihomelessness-ordinance-2021-7 “Among other limits, the ordinance that passed 13-2 would ban sitting, lying, sleeping or storing personal property… near driveways, fire hydrants, schools, day care centers, libraries, homeless shelters and parks.” https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-lifestyle-business-government-and-politics-4f1ef8aef6c1784e3b1a6193b6ed5016
Missourians reportedly wearing disguises to hide their identities when getting vaccinated. “… the driving force behind the reluctance may be concern for social standing. Patients aren’t only changing their appearance; they’re also begging their health care providers to be discreet…. They’re ‘very concerned about how the people that they love within their family and within their friendship circles and their work circles are going to react if they find out that they got the vaccine.'” https://www.newsweek.com/people-are-reportedly-getting-vaccinated-disguise-avoid-judgment-1614057
Black police officers testify that they were targeted with racial abuse during Capital riot. “One woman in a pink ‘MAGA’ shirt yelled, ‘You hear that, guys, this n——— voted for Joe Biden!’” said (Officer Harry) Dunn, who has served more than a dozen years on the Capitol Police force. ‘Then the crowd, perhaps around 20 people, joined in, screaming ‘Boo! F——— n—— !’ he testified. He said no one had ever called him the N-word while he was in uniform.” https://apnews.com/51e7098111e221b88e3b64d476f241c8 The rioter had told Dunn ‘nobody voted for Biden’, and Dunn replied that, actually, he had voted for him.
Another Chinese billionaire is going to prison, for 18 years. “(Sun Dawu’s) legal team declined to comment on the case, saying it was too politically sensitive. One lawyer spoke of the fear of losing the license to practice law if interviewed by NPR. Sun’s case stemmed from a minor property dispute with a neighboring state farm that turned violent last summer. Dawu Group employees tried to petition local regulators for help in resolving the dispute.” https://www.npr.org/2021/07/28/1021651586/chinese-billionaire-sun-dawu-is-sentenced-to-18-years-for-provoking-trouble
Foreign journalists covering flooding in China say they have been harassed by the public. “Since Sunday, the China-based staff for the BBC, The Los Angeles Times and others have received death threats and intimidating messages and calls, according to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China…. Journalists reporting on a submerged tunnel for the news agency Agence France-Presse were forced by hostile residents to delete footage and surrounded by several dozen men, according to the correspondents’ group.” https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/28/business/china-floods-foreign-media.html
Five Germans missing after chemical plant explosion are assumed to be dead. “Officials said Wednesday they have little hope of finding five missing workers alive, a day after an explosion at an industrial park for chemical companies in western Germany that killed at least two people and injured 31 others…. The environmental authority for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Leverkusen is located, said Wednesday that the explosion’s smoke contained dioxin, polychlorinated biphenyl and furan compounds. However, it could not yet say how strong the concentration of these chemicals were…” https://apnews.com/article/europe-business-explosions-d7f7ef8f113a12af8ba38fd1b5ec9add
Syrian doctor accused of torturing protesters. “The doctor, Alaa Mousa, identified as Alaa M in the indictment, is the third Syrian living in Germany to be charged with committing state-sponsored atrocities during uprisings against President Bashar al-Assad…. According to the indictment, the doctor committed numerous acts of torture in two military-run hospitals in Damascus and Homs against people who had been injured in anti-Assad demonstrations. At least two of the victims died, the indictment said.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/syria-doctor-germany-crimes-humanity/2021/07/28/da9ff600-efa7-11eb-81b2-9b7061a582d8_story.html
After a Granite City, Illinois teenager mouthed off to a police officer, a police dog was ‘accidentally’ released, which reportedly mauled his leg for 8 minutes. “When officers asked (Devondre) Williams for his name, date of birth, and a statement regarding the alleged fight, the teen told officers, ‘You don’t need my fucking information for nothing,’ according to the department’s incident report…. ‘During the struggle (witnesses deny there was a struggle) the button controlling the door popper for my K-9 vehicle was activated,’ the report says. ‘The button is on the front of my ballistic vest carrier and it is believed that when Williams pushed away from the vehicle and my body, it activated the door popper by inadvertently pressing the button, allowing my K-9 Waldo to exit the vehicle.'” https://www.vice.com/en/article/qj8n4d/cops-taser-police-dog-k9-stop-biting-teen
Joe Manchin reportedly makes more money from his shares in a company that supplies coal to a power plant than he does as a U.S. senator. “According to his most recent financial disclosure, Manchin gained $492,000 last year due to his non-public shares in a coal company called Enersystems, which records show is a contractor for a power plant in the state’s north that burns waste coal. Meanwhile, Manchin’s 2020 income for being a senator was $174,000.” https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3x8bw/joe-manchin-senator-millions-coal-grant-town-west-virginia
Joe Manchin accused of being a no-show as West Virginia pharmaceutical employees seek to stop plant closure. “More than 1,400 workers in West Virginia are set to lose their jobs this week when the Viatris pharmaceuticals plant in Morgantown shuts down and moves operations overseas to India and Australia…. Manchin’s daughter, Heather Bresch, got a $31 million payout as a result of the corporate consolidation before the new company set about cutting costs, including the closure of the Morgantown plant.” https://www.democracynow.org/2021/7/28/joe_manchin_west_virginia_heather_bresch
When McDonald’s declined to allow its restaurants in Israeli-occupied West Bank, the far right was upset but no one else seemed to care. “Similar to Ben & Jerry’s, McDonald’s backs a position against sales beyond the Green Line, not differentiating between Israeli settlements and other West Bank areas under limited Palestinian control. But unlike the ice cream supplier, McDonald’s avoided issuing a press-stopping statement to announce the policy.” https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-mcdonalds-took-the-same-stance-as-ben-jerrys-but-avoided-public-backlash/
Government leak investigations soared during Trump administration. “The Trump administration referred far more media leaks for criminal investigation each year than any of the previous 15 years, with the CIA accounting for the vast majority of such leaks, according to a trove of records released by the Department of Justice to the independent watchdog group Project On Government Oversight, or POGO, in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.” https://theintercept.com/2021/07/29/media-leak-whistleblower-trump-cia/
Radicals accused of causing train derailments in solidarity with indigenous groups fighting oil pipelines. “The FBI is investigating at least 41 incidents of railway sabotage in Washington state since 19 January 2020. In the most serious incident, on 22 December, a train derailed and caught fire in Custer, Washington, spilling 29,000 gallons of crude oil and prompting the evacuation of 120 people nearby…. (Prof. Steven) Beda said Earth First, and the people installing shunts, appear to share the belief that change cannot happen through the courts or political systems, so they make the leap into sabotaging economies and industries, at any cost…. ‘To see that supporters of Wet’suwet’en sovereignty are facing up to 20 years in prison tells me that the state is very fearful of Indigenous resistance and those who support Indigenous resistance.'” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/29/activists-sabotaging-railways-indigenous-people
French president Emmanuel Macron sues over anti-vax billboards depicting him as Adolph Hitler. “‘In Macron-land, showing the Prophet’s rear is satire, (but) making fun of Macron as a dictator is blasphemy,’ referring to the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo’s controversial caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/28/emmanuel-macron-takes-legal-action-over-hitler-poster-comparison
U.S. House progressives vow to torpedo stand-alone bipartisan infrastructure bill. “House progressives made clear Wednesday night that they are willing to vote down a newly etched bipartisan infrastructure deal unless a sweeping budget reconciliation package advances simultaneously, a threat that came after Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced her opposition to a $3.5 trillion climate and social spending proposal.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/29/progressives-threaten-tank-bipartisan-infrastructure-deal-if-their-demands-arent-met
Formerly homeless congresswoman introduces package of measures to end homelessness. “‘It is past time for the federal government to establish an Unhoused Bill of Rights and make the desperately needed investments to guarantee housing, healthcare, and a robust social safety net for our unhoused neighbors,’ (Rep. Cori Bush said in a statement). ‘We can end this crisis by 2025 if we, as lawmakers and as a country, finally dedicate ourselves to prioritizing those in our communities who have the least….’ The resolution is co-sponsored by 17 progressive House Democrats…” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/28/formerly-homeless-rep-cori-bush-introduces-unhoused-bill-rights
Fight for $15 movement has resulted in pay hikes for 25 million workers, says labor group. “The National Employment Law Project (NELP) released a report showing that since the movement began in November 2012 with a walkout by New York City fast food workers, its work has led to $150 billion in raises for 25 million workers…. About 12 million of the workers who have earned raises due to the movement’s activism are people of color; $76 billion has gone to workers of color and $70 billion has gone to women.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/28/grassroots-fight-15-movement-has-won-150-billion-raises-millions-workers-study-shows
Federal appeals court throws out pork industry lawsuit challenging California’s farm animal confinement rules. “The law, also known as the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative, forbids the sale of meat from hogs born of sows not housed in conformity with its ‘stand-up-turn-around requirements’. Pigs must be able to lie down, stand up, turn around and fully extend their limbs without touching the sides of their stalls or another animal…. ‘Under our precedent, state laws that regulate only conduct in the state, including the sale of products in the state, do not have impermissible extraterritorial effects.'” https://www.courthousenews.com/ninth-circuit-kills-pork-industry-challenge-to-california-confinement-rules/
Gawker coming back under new ownership. “Bustle Digital Group said it had hired Gawker’s former writers and editors to relaunch the site, which went into bankruptcy after being ordered to pay $140 million to former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan over publication of a sex tape…. (Peter) Thiel, a prominent Silicon Valley investor and supporter of Donald Trump, acknowledged funding (the) legal battle against the gossip website that ‘outed’ him as gay.” https://www.courthousenews.com/celebrity-gossip-site-relaunches-after-sex-tape-forced-shutdown/