President of Cornell University defends free speech. “It is critical to our mission as a university to think deeply about freedom of expression and the challenges that result from assaults on it, which today come from both ends of the political spectrum,” [Martha] Pollack said, reiterating points she made in her 2022 address to new students. “Learning from difference, learning to engage with difference and learning to communicate across difference are key parts of a Cornell education. Free expression and academic freedom are the bedrock not just of the university, but of democracy.” https://reason.com/2023/04/19/cornells-president-defends-free-speech-against-illiberal-impulses/
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces run for president. “Kennedy, the 69-year-old son of the late senator, attorney general and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy, declared his candidacy for the White House at a campaign launch event at a hotel in downtown Boston…. ‘My mission over the next 18 months of this campaign, and throughout my presidency, will be to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism on our country.’ …. Kennedy pledged that his goal will be to end [political] division by encouraging people to talk about common values rather than the issues that divide. ‘I’m going to do that by telling the truth to the American people,’ he said…. Kennedy has faced criticism from fellow Democrats for his activism against the COVID-19 vaccine, and his emerging role in recent years as a crusader for individual liberties has made him an increasingly popular figure on the political right.” https://www.foxnews.com/politics/robert-f-kennedy-jr-launches-democratic-challenge-biden-vows-fight-corporate-feudalism Kennedy’s platform includes de-militarizing U.S. foreign policy. “‘As President, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will start the process of unwinding empire. We will bring the troops home. We will stop racking up unpayable debt to fight one war after another,’ the [campaign’s] website says. ‘The military will return to its proper role of defending the homeland. We will end the proxy wars, bombing campaigns, covert operations, coups, paramilitaries, and everything else that has become so normal most people don’t know it’s happening. But it is happening, a constant drain on our strength,’ it says.” https://news.antiwar.com/2023/04/19/rfk-jr-launches-presidential-bid-vows-to-unwind-the-us-empire/ Campaign website ‘Peace’ page here: https://www.kennedy24.com/peace
County autopsy of slain ‘Cop City’ protester found no gunpowder on his hands. “[Manuel Esteban Paez] Teran… was shot and killed by police on Jan. 18 as officers raided campgrounds occupied by environmental demonstrators who had allegedly been camping out [in the forest] for months to protest development of the training center…. According to the [DeKalb county] autopsy sent to ABC News, Teran did not have gunpowder residue on [his] hands. Officials claimed Teran fired the first shot at a state trooper…. Teran had at least 57 gunshot wounds… according to the autopsy, including in the hands, torso, legs and head.” https://abcnews.go.com/US/dekalb-county-releases-autopsy-cop-city-protester-manuel/story?id=98700731
Number of Antioch, CA police officers implicated in racist text message scandal rises to 45. “[Public defender Ellen] McDonnell said 16 of the officers are in leadership positions, including one from the police union and one from internal affairs, which is typically charged with investigating complaints against police…. The Antioch Police Department has been under investigation for civil rights violations by the FBI and the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office for more than a year. On Monday, the District Attorney’s Office released a 14-page report describing racists and homophobic text messages between at least 23 officers. Some described violence against arrestees.” https://www.kron4.com/news/number-of-antioch-pd-officers-involved-in-racist-text-scandal-now-at-45/
Jayland Walker protesters claim police used pepper spray or tear gas to disperse crowd. “Demonstrators at the march said the event was peaceful, but police said ‘rocks and bottles’ were thrown at officers…. [Police Lt. Michael] Miller said he did not know whether officers were hit by thrown objects or injured. Miller said it was unclear whether officers ‘had time to declare an unlawful assembly’ before deploying a ‘chemical agent’ that he also described as pepper spray or tear gas. Demetrius Travis Sr., Walker’s cousin and one of the organizers of Wednesday’s protest, said the demonstration was peaceful but became ‘chaotic’ when officers arrived…. ‘It was inexcusable and reckless of the mayor and the chief of police to [deploy] cops in riot and war gear, pepper-spraying and shooting off smoke bombs, with children involved, at a protest that was very peaceful,’ Travis Sr. said. ‘This is the system we’re up against in Akron, Ohio and in America, and one I’m going to continue to fight to change.'” https://www.cleveland.com/akron/2023/04/akron-police-use-tear-gas-on-people-protesting-over-jayland-walker-grand-jury-decision.html
North Carolina man shoots father and daughter after basketball rolls into his yard. “Family members tell Queen City News the six-year-old girl, identified as Kinsley White, was released from the hospital overnight and that the violent incident stemmed from a neighbor who was upset that a basketball rolled into his yard. Kinsley White spoke with Queen City News following the shooting. ‘He came out with a gun, he started shooting,’ she said. ‘Hope my daddy is okay.’ …. [Robert Singletary is] facing several charges, including four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and a count of possession of a firearm by a felon.” https://www.qcnews.com/news/u-s/north-carolina/gaston-county/police-search-for-suspect-after-gastonia-double-shooting/
Pentagon UFO official claims still no proof of aliens, but several whistleblowers have been interviewed. “Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the Defense Department’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, … [appeared] before a subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee…. According to [Kirkpatrick], there is no credible evidence any of the [650] still unidentified objects came from outer space. However, the Pentagon said a small number of them exhibited advanced flight characteristics which indicate they may have been developed by China.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-tracking-650-potential-ufos/ “‘I should also state clearly for the record that in our research, AARO has found no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity, off-world technology, or objects that defy the known laws of physics,’ Kirkpatrick said…. During Wednesday’s hearing, Gillibrand also addressed the so-called ‘whistleblower’ provision outlined in the FY 2023 NDAA, requesting information about the establishment of a publicly accessible online portal that can be used for the collection of witnesses that can be interviewed by AARO. Kirkpatrick confirmed that several such individuals had been interviewed by his team, several of which were forwarded to his Office by members of the Senate…. ‘I’m not going to go chase the Chinese high-altitude balloon, for example. That’s not my job,’ Kirkpatrick said. ‘It’s not an unknown, and it’s not anomalous.'” https://thedebrief.org/senate-hearing-on-uap-reveals-new-videos-and-common-features-but-says-no-proof-of-et/ If China really had that technology, they’d already have Taiwan, and they’d probably rule the world. I’m not buying it – the cover-up continues… Video of hearing (including Iraq UFO sphere video). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6qTR_Lxe1Q
IRS investigator claims Hunter Biden tax probe subjected to political influence. “The attorney for an unnamed IRS criminal supervisory special agent says his client has asked Congress for protections to speak out about allegations that a years-long, high-profile and politically sensitive investigation has been hindered by ‘preferential treatment and politics’, according to a letter obtained by CBS News. That investigation is the one probing potential tax crimes by Hunter Biden, CBS News has learned.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hunter-biden-investigation-irs-agent-requests-whistleblower-protections-congress/
Primary tasks of China’s overseas ‘police stations’ are to spy on opposition activists and throttle dissent, claim prosecutors. “Chinese Communist Party enforcers in their secret US network of police stations are ordered to harass dissidents, spy for plots to overthrow the regime – and to monitor derisive remarks about President Xi Jinping’s resemblance to Winnie the Pooh. The Chinese police stations – two of them based in New York City – cooperate with the country’s diplomats to pressure dissidents, including pro-democracy demonstrators, to return to China where they face repression and imprisonment…. the [government’s] 912 Group created thousands of fake social media accounts to harass dissidents. The fake accounts also spread government propaganda to work against the dissidents.” https://nypost.com/2023/04/19/chinas-us-police-stations-target-winnie-the-pooh-memes/ I think the reason Xi is so sensitive about the Winnie the Pooh memes is not just the implied similarity in their appearances, but that Pooh is often shown with his paw in the ‘honey jar’, suggesting greed and corruption at the highest levels of the Communist Party.
Moscow court upholds man’s 8 1/2 year sentence for spreading ‘disinformation’. “[Ilya] Yashin, 39, was convicted in December for spreading ‘false’ information about the Russian military’s alleged killing of civilians in the Kyiv suburb town of Bucha last spring…. ‘This law is null and void, and is unconstitutional,’ Yashin said at the appeal hearing. ‘In effect, it introduces an unlawful ban on public disagreement with the Russian officials’ position regarding the war that President Putin unleashed against Ukraine.'” https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/04/19/russian-court-rejects-jailed-kremlin-critic-yashin-appeal-a80881
Pentagon announces new $325 million military aid package for Ukraine. “The weapons [and ammunition] are being provided to Ukraine through the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows President Biden to send arms to Kyiv directly from Pentagon stockpiles. The funds are being drawn from the $45 billion aid bill Congress passed in December, which is expected to be exhausted by the summer. To date, the US has authorized about $113 billion in spending on the war.” https://news.antiwar.com/2023/04/19/us-announces-325-million-arms-package-for-ukraine/
U.K. police detain French man over participation in pension reform protests. “The London Metropolitan Police have been condemned by writers, journalist unions and activists for questioning and detaining a French publisher under the United Kingdom’s Terrorism Act. Ernest Moret, foreign rights manager for popular science fiction author Alain Damasio as well as Editions La Fabrique, was on his way to the London Book Fair when he was stopped by police officers on Monday evening…. ‘We consider these actions to be outrageous and unjustifiable infringements of basic principles of the freedom of expression and an example of the abuse of anti-terrorism laws,’ [publishers Editions La Fabrique and Verso Books said in a statement].” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/19/uk-police-under-fire-for-arresting-french-publisher
Supreme Court rules in favor of Texas death row prisoner asking for crime scene DNA tests. “In a 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Texas death row prisoner Rodney Reed to continue pursuing DNA testing that could finally prove his innocence…. Reed, who is Black, was sent to death row for the murder of a 19-year-old white woman named Stacey Stites, whose body was found on the side of a country road outside Bastrop, Texas, in 1996…. Over the years, Reed has repeatedly sought DNA testing of key crime scene evidence that could resolve the matter, including two lengths of a braided leather belt that were used to strangle Stites. Texas has fought back at every turn with a host of dubious claims, including that Reed cannot prove there is DNA present on the belt, that the evidence is too contaminated for testing, and that no amount of DNA evidence would change the outcome of his case.” https://theintercept.com/2023/04/19/supreme-court-dna-testing-rodney-reed/
Texas women shot after opening door of wrong car. “After midnight on Tuesday, [Heather] Roth got out of a friend’s car and opened the door to a vehicle that resembled one she had left parked there, Houston TV station KTRK reported. Roth said she was alarmed to find a man in the passenger seat, so she went back to her friend’s car. The man came up to them. Roth rolled the window down to apologize and explain her mistake. The man pulled a gun and fired into the car, striking both girls, Roth told KRTK. Roth had a graze wound that was treated on scene. [Payton] Washington was shot in the back and a leg…. Her spleen was removed and she is scheduled for more surgeries to repair damage to multiple organs, a coach said on Instagram late on Tuesday.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/19/texas-cheerleaders-shot-parking-lot-wrong-car
Large U.S. corporations have repeatedly been caught price-fixing. “… a new investigation shows that large companies operating in the United States have paid nearly $100 billion in fines and settlements since 2000 ‘to resolve allegations of covert price-fixing and other anti-competitive practices in violation of antitrust laws’…. Producers of goods and services are said to constantly vie with one another in the quest for sales,” says the report. “In truth, however, large companies often evade competition and instead collude with one another to control markets to their mutual benefit—and to the disadvantage of consumers, who end up paying higher prices. This is the world of price-fixing and other anti-competitive practices cooked up secretly by purportedly rival corporate executives.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/corporate-price-fixing-us-economy
Corporations reportedly spending millions to block President Biden’s nominee to lead Dept. of Labor. “Labor and advocacy groups have celebrated since President Joe Biden nominated [Julie] Su in February, but industries opposed to her are spending big in states like Arizona, Montana, and West Virginia, hoping some current and former Democrats in the Senate will block her confirmation. ‘Why are corporations spending millions to defeat Julie Su’s nomination as labor secretary? They know she’s a champion of the working class and will take on the forces of corporate greed, illegal union-busters, and improve working conditions. The Senate must confirm her nomination,’ Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweeted Friday.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/julie-su-labor-senate-help
Family of Tyre Nichols sues over fatal beating inflicted by Memphis police officers. “The lawsuit accuses Memphis Police Director Cerelyn ‘CJ’ Davis of starting a crime-suppression unit called Scorpion to target repeat violent offenders in high-crime areas.The lawsuit claims the Scorpion unit used ‘extreme intimidation, humiliation, and violence’…. It says that the department permitted this aggressive approach to develop and ignored complaints by other residents targeted by the unit before Nichols’ death.” https://www.courthousenews.com/tyre-nichols-family-sues-memphis-police-over-beating-death/
Progressive News Service 