There 's a long way to go , but the Covington Kids have struck the first blow in returning accountability to news media .\nA year after he and his family 's name was dragged through the mud by a social media mob , egged on by fake news , Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann has secured a settlement of his defamation lawsuit against CNN . I hope it 's a big one . He deserves it . And CNN deserves the hit .\nFar too many journalists in this country are interested not in reporting the news or providing honest commentary , but in creating inflammatory incidents to `` start a national conversation , '' or far worse , to sadistically humiliate private citizens they perceive to be their enemies .\nBoth problematic impulses were on display when `` Black Hebrew Israelites '' and a professional protester pretending to be a Vietnam veteran confronted a group of Catholic high school students from Covington , Kentucky , last January .\nIf there was a news story to report , it was the brazen aggression of the openly anti-Semitic Black Hebrew Israelites , who chose to scream racist and anti-Catholic slurs at the boys , who had just participated in the March for Life . Less than a year later , two associates of that very group would open fire in a kosher grocery in Jersey City , N.J. , killing three people . Any journalist could have had a scoop on a rising , violent threat to Jewish-Americans that the Covington incident foreshadowed .\nBut that was n't the story the media wanted to tell . It was n't the `` conversation '' they wanted to start . The story they wanted to tell was about white Catholic kids `` harassing '' black activists and peace-loving Native Americans . So that 's what they did , heedlessly embracing that biased impulse . They put 16 year-old student Nick Sandmann 's face front and center of their reporting , claiming his `` smirking face '' made him a racist thug .\nSome of the more dishonest participants in this pile-on would claim they were `` just reporting the facts , '' but others let their guard down and more or less admitted they wanted to mess this kid 's life up because he wore a MAGA hat . I wrote about this at length as soon as the real facts came out : Sandmann and the Covington Catholic students did nothing wrong . They were the victims of a set-up by leftist activists and it fit the media 's biases so well they bought the rouse hook , line , and sinker .\nThis is how the modern American media operates far too much of the time , driven by ideology and hatred of people they think are different . And for far too long , they 've done so with virtual impunity . Defamation suits against the news media are expensive and difficult to win . Because of the free press ' role in preserving our democratic traditions , courts are often exceedingly deferential to reporters , even when they get the most important facts wrong .\nThe news that CNN agreed to settle with Sandmann for an undisclosed amount should have serious ramifications in the news industry . If the mainstream media were the professionals they claim to be , they would n't threaten the lives and reputations of ordinary Americans with their libels .\nBut this is the American fake news media we 're talking about . They 've got a long , steep climb ahead before they regain any respectability .\nDonald Trump Jr. is the executive vice president at The Trump Organization and author of the New York Times bestseller `` Triggered : How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us . ''


CLOSE Texas state troopers have begun asking motorists their race and ethnicity after it was discovered that drivers — mostly Hispanics — were often misidentified during traffic stops due to flaws in a system meant to guard against racial profiling . Wochit\nTexas state troopers have begun asking motorists their race and ethnicity after it was discovered that drivers — mostly Hispanics — were often misidentified during traffic stops because of flaws in an automated system meant to guard against racial profiling .\nDepartment of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told a state House committee that the change took effect Wednesday in an attempt to gather more accurate data .\n`` What we can do better , and what we should have been doing better , is collect the data accurately as it relates to Hispanics . Plain and simple ... I would rather a trooper not have to ask , '' McCraw told lawmakers , according to a transcript of the hearing . `` But if the data does n't work ... there is a problem . ''\nKXAN-TV in Austin conducted a database review using millions of records going back to 2010 that showed troopers across the state inaccurately reported the race of Hispanic drivers .\nThe television station 's investigation of DPS traffic citation records also found the number of drivers stopped by troopers and recorded as Hispanic has gone up annually since 2010 — from nearly 208,000 to 351,000 last year — while the number of drivers recorded as white declined in the same time period from 1.9 million to about 1.2 million last year , the Associated Press reported .\nAmong the most common surnames of drivers listed by troopers as white are Garcia , Martinez , Hernandez , Gonzalez and Rodriguez . While a Hispanic name does n't necessarily mean a person is of Hispanic descent , the review of DPS records showed more than 1.9 million drivers with traditionally Hispanic names were listed as white . Over the same period , approximately 1.6 million were reported as Hispanic .\nIn an effort to guard against racial profiling , state law requires authorities to document the race of drivers who are arrested , issued warnings or citations . But McCraw testified that coding on drivers licenses only allowed for identification as Hispanic since 2010 . Prior to that time , Hispanic motorists were often identified as white .\nMcCraw told lawmakers that he did not know how much it would cost to fix the automated system , leaving no other remedy but to direct troopers to specifically ask for the information .\n`` Officers will advise the individual that the officer is required by law to inquire as to the individual ’ s race or ethnicity , '' a DPS memo outlining the new policy stated . `` The officer will record the race or ethnicity as stated by the motorist . Only in cases where an individual refuses to provide the requested information and the database reflects their race or ethnicity as 'other , ' will the officer use best judgment or ability to determine the race or ethnicity of the motorists . ''\nDespite the current lack of data , McCraw maintained that the agency does not tolerate racial profiling .\n`` Bottom line , it 's against the law , '' he said . `` There is no racial profiling within the DPS . ''


In the fall of 2015 , a maximum-security prison in New York invited Harvard ’ s debate team to compete against a squad of three incarcerated men . The men , all convicted of violent crimes , knew they faced tough odds : Unlike their Harvard opponents , they could not use the internet to study the topic in advance . But the prisoners were declared the winners , and the crowd , including dozens of other incarcerated men in green jumpsuits , burst into applause .\nThe incarcerated debaters at Eastern New York Correctional Facility were students themselves , part of an undergraduate program run by Bard College . The Bard Prison Initiative gives a small group of prisoners access to the same professors and curriculum offered to students on the regular liberal arts campus , allowing them to earn bachelor ’ s degrees . “ BPI is a simple experiment , ” Max Kenner , the program ’ s founder , says in College Behind Bars , a new documentary series directed by Lynn Novick , produced by Sarah Botstein , and executive produced by Ken Burns . “ What happens when we provide the kinds of education that are typically in the US only afforded to the wealthy or lucky or rich , to others ? ”\nWhat happens is more than just beating Harvard ( or Cambridge ) at debate . “ We were blown away by the seriousness and intellectual sophistication and curiosity and the focus and collegiality and the way the students talked with us and to each other and raised really profound challenging questions that we had never been asked , ” says Novick , who herself taught a Bard class about film before beginning the documentary . Graduates of the program are also much less likely to commit other crimes later . Only 4 percent of them have wound up in prison again , compared with about 40 percent of other New York prisoners .\nIf only more people could take advantage of the opportunity . Prison college programs used to be fairly common , but the 1994 crime bill written by Joe Biden and signed by Bill Clinton gutted federal funding for them . By 2001 , when the Bard program began , only three other programs in New York offered higher education behind bars . Today , the documentary series shows that less than 2 percent of incarcerated people in the state ’ s prisons have access to higher education .\nThis week , I caught up with Sebastian Yoon , one of the students portrayed in the film . Incarcerated at the age of 16 , he spent the first part of a 15-year sentence sweeping floors and wishing he could go off to college like his friends on the outside . At one point , he became so desperate he tried to kill himself . But the Bard program changed his outlook , and he threw himself into pursuing a degree in social studies . In one of the final segments of the series , he holds back tears after receiving an A on his senior thesis . “ I want to go home and I want to look back at prison and say , ‘ Prison was terrible , I never want to go back , but I learned something , ' ” he says afterward . “ That is where transformation happens . That is what stops people from coming back to prison . ”\nYoon was recently released . Here , he shares what it was like to go through Bard , the challenges of studying in a cell , and how a college program transformed the maximum-security prison where he lived .\nCan you tell me a little about what your life was like growing up , and how you arrived at Eastern Correctional Facility ?\nI grew up without a mother , who left me when I was five . My father and my two siblings , we were together , and then I went to Korea for about two years when I was five . We came back to Flushing , Queens , and moved to Long Island when I was 10 , and it was there that I found myself being one of few Asians in the entire school . I faced a lot of discrimination and racism . I didn ’ t know how to respond ; all I could do was go home and pretty much cry . There was one time when I just snapped and reacted violently . From then on , I realized people stopped bothering you when you used force . I started hanging out in the streets , where I found a sense of empowerment . One night , me and my friends were hanging out at a karaoke bar , and a fight erupted , which wasn ’ t unusual for us . But this case obviously changed my life : At the age of 16 , I was sentenced to 15 years for manslaughter in the first degree , as an adult . Because at the time , teenagers were still charged as adults in New York state . And then I landed at Eastern , five years after I was incarcerated .\nDo you remember what your first day of class was like and how you felt ?\nWhen I first started class , I was very skeptical . I mean , I was interested and excited to be a part of it , and to have gotten accepted , but I was skeptical . Because generally programs within prisons are dumbed down , and nobody cares , not even the people who are teaching . The greatest surprise to me was how engaged and passionate the professors were . They didn ’ t treat us as prisoners or make the curriculum easy for us in any way .\nMost of my work happened in my cell late at night . Usually people start going to sleep at 11 , but for us college students , sleep time was usually around 3 a.m. , because the quietest time to study was after midnight . You don ’ t want to leave the lights on in the cell because it ’ s an open cell and it would bother people . So we would just turn on the lamps and read for hours on end and write essays . When you look out the window , the cells that you see with the lamps reflecting , they were usually college students .\nThe film mentions how studying would get interrupted regularly for the count—when all the guys would have to go back to their cells to be counted by correctional officers . What were some of the other challenges that made it hard to be a student in prison ?\nJust being a prisoner , that in itself was probably the biggest struggle . No matter how hard you try to be a student , you are first and foremost a prisoner . The only way to fight it was to just get lost in the ideas and the books and discussions .\nWithout access to the internet , how would you do research ?\nMost of our research came through books . But we did have a non-online internet , called JSTOR . So we would type up a subject title , and we would see only the titles of the articles . Based on the titles , we could submit request forms , and there is a faculty member for BPI who , along with a team of Bard college students on [ the main Bard campus ] , would print these papers out and bring them into the prison .\nIn the series , one student talks about how he was put into solitary confinement after writing a story for homework that included characters who swore during the dialogue . Were there other examples of students being punished for doing their work ?\nNot for doing homework , per se . But I ’ ve seen some instances where students got a ticket for having passed the book limit in their cells . In New York , I think the max is 15 books per cell . In a given semester , if you ’ re taking four to five classes , you ’ re going to receive more than 20 books . And you have to also include the personal books you have . Some officers are understanding , but there are some officers who would give you a ticket . Something like that was very frustrating . But what can we do ? We took the risk . Books were more important .\nSome of the guys in the documentary describe the Bard program as a way to escape mentally from the confines of prison , and one says it ’ s a sort of an “ oasis…in the desert. ” Is that how you saw it ?\nWell for me , I have to say that this program gave me life in the literal sense . Because when I first went to prison , I tried to commit suicide upon receiving 15 years . And I was desperate to find a reason to live . I was desperate for hope , because all I could imagine was upon being released that nobody would ever give me an opportunity because I ’ m a convicted criminal , and they would see me as a 16-year-old who committed an act—not define me as a person who committed a bad act , but define me as a bad person . In a place like prison , once you ’ re given even a glimmer of hope , you ’ re just going to latch onto it . And higher education materialized in a form of hope . And I was just gung-ho all the way . Nothing else mattered .\nI used to tell my dad that finishing my senior thesis comes before being released . Like I wanted to finish that paper , that ’ s how important it was to me .\nAbout how Koreans living in Korea and Korean Americans here look back on Japanese colonialism , which happened in the 20th century in Korea , and how they used that history to define their identities .\nHow were you spending most of your time before you decided to apply for BPI ?\nIn the beginning , I swept and mopped the school floors . After that I went to work as a cook in the officers ’ mess hall . So instead of making food for the inmates , I made food for the officers .\nI was 21 at the time I was accepted into BPI . During that time , my friends who were outside would tell me about what they were doing in college , what kind of courses they were taking . I felt a deep sense of shame and despair thinking that while my friends were doing what every 20-year-old should be doing , I ’ m sitting here staring at my wall for hours on end . And I ’ m making no improvements for my life , and my prospects for the future weren ’ t getting any brighter .\nSome correctional officers never got a college degree themselves . Did this ever lead to tension with students who were pursuing their degree while they were incarcerated ?\nSome officers would say something like , “ Just because you ’ re getting an education don ’ t think you ’ re better than me , or don ’ t think you ’ re smarter than me. ” But there were also officers who encouraged us . It would really make my day whenever an officer searching my cell would ask about a paper that was sitting at my desk . “ What are you learning now ? I hope you guys graduate soon . I wish I could be there . If I could I will. ” That was very encouraging for all of us .\nOh , graduation was the highlight of my incarceration . It was a time when all the hard work that we ’ d put in was finally showcased . It was a testament to the fact that despite the difficulties , despite the hopelessness , we ’ d accomplished something . For my father , that became a talking point . As a parent , I guess when you ’ re having conversations with someone , it ’ s difficult to say , “ My son or daughter is in prison. ” Getting my degree , my dad could talk about me with a sense of pride , not in shame . He would say , “ My son is incarcerated , but he ’ s getting a college education. ” He was very proud that day .\nWas there a particular book or class that made a big impression or changed your worldview ?\nMy favorite class was called Cosmopolitanism . We talked about what it would like to have world citizenship , whereby our identities are not limited by nationalities , but where we are global members of the world . It taught me what it meant to have civic duty and to have civic virtues . I thought civic duties was limited to obeying laws , but that changed , and I realized that being a democratic person requires one to actively participate in the political process . I think it carries with me even up to this day . I ’ m constantly reading the news . I want to know what ’ s going on not only in the US , but in the world . And I want to be part of a change . And I ’ m gon na vote , which is something we couldn ’ t do in prison .\nWhat are some of the ways that this Bard program changed Eastern as a facility ?\nIt changes the atmosphere . If you ever visited , you would not see anything similar to what you would see in Hollywood shows or these documentaries that like to show prisoners acting irrationally and violently all the time . You would see incarcerated people walking around with textbooks in the yard , having conversations about philosophy and Plato . It pervades throughout the general population , the people who are not in the program : When they see us having a discussion , often they would come over and ask what we were talking about . The next thing we know , they were part of the conversation and we were able to teach them , but also we were able to listen to them . Which makes them feel like they want to continue this kind of thing and join BPI also .\nWhen did you leave prison , and where are you now ?\nI was released from prison in March . I ’ m currently working as a program specialist with the Democracy Fund at Open Society Foundations , which is the second-biggest philanthropic organization in the world . We provide grants and support to other organizations and individuals who are committed to social justice reform work . I ’ m still in Long Island , but I work in Manhattan .\nI live with my family , and it ’ s great . I ’ m helping to pay the mortgage , I ’ m able to do familial duties , to help my little sister with her homework . She ’ s in high school right now . She ’ s actually 16 , which is the age I went to prison . Just looking at her reminds me how young I was . Because she seems like a baby to me . But yeah , life is really interesting , and I ’ m very optimistic for my future . And just being part of an organization that is about helping others , especially those who are marginalized , I mean , I wake up feeling really good about the coming day .\nThe series College Behind Bars aired on PBS on November 25 and 26 and is now available for free streaming on PBS.org through the end of January .


`` Desperate Housewives '' star Felicity Huffman has been sentenced to 14 days in prison for federal crimes stemming from the massive `` Varsity Blues '' college entrance scam .\nInterested in College Admissions Scandal ? Add College Admissions Scandal as an interest to stay up to date on the latest College Admissions Scandal news , video , and analysis from ███ . Add Interest\nHuffman also will have to pay a $ 30,000 fine , complete 250 hours of community service and serve one year of probation .\nShe is due to self-report to a yet-to-be-determined Bureau of Prisons facility Oct. 25 .\nHuffman , 56 , learned her fate Friday and issued a statement shortly thereafter , accepting the judge 's decision .\n`` I accept the court 's decision today without reservation , '' she said in the statement . `` I have always been prepared to accept whatever punishment Judge Talwani imposed . I broke the law . I have admitted that and I pleaded guilty to this crime . There are no excuses or justifications for my actions . Period .\n`` I would like to apologize again to my daughter , my husband , my family and the educational community for my actions . And I especially want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college , and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices supporting their children . ''\n`` I have learned a lot over the last six months about my flaws as a person , '' she added . `` My goal now is to serve the sentence that the court has given me . I look forward to doing my community service hours and making a positive impact on my community . I also plan to continue making contributions wherever I can well after those service hours are completed . I can promise you that in the months and years to come that I will try and live a more honest life , serve as a better role model for my daughters and family and continue to contribute my time and energies wherever I am needed . My hope now is that my family , my friends and my community will forgive me for my actions . ''\nBefore announcing her decision , Judge Indira Talwani said she was not punishing Huffman -- and won ’ t punish the other parents either -- for a flawed college admissions process . Instead , the judge focused on why there is such a sense of outrage surrounding the case , saying that it is because the system is already so distorted and that Huffman took the step of obtaining one more advantage to put her child ahead of others .\nHuffman read a statement in front of the court apologizing to the judge , students and the colleges and universities . She then tearfully apologized to her two daughters and husband for betraying them .\nHuffman told the court that her daughter has asked her why she didn ’ t believe in her . Tearfully , she said “ I was frightened . I was stupid and I was wrong . I have inflicted more damage than I could ever imagine . ”\n`` I take full responsibility for my actions . I am prepared to take whatever sentence you give me , ” Huffman told the court .\nEarlier this month , Huffman 's lawyers filed papers asking Talwani to not send the Oscar-nominated actress to prison , writing that `` nothing about her history and characteristics require a prison sentence . ''\nHuffman 's lawyers had asked Talwani to impose a one-year probation term , 250 hours of community service and a $ 20,000 fine . But federal prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Huffman to one month of incarceration , followed by 12 months of supervised release and a fine of $ 20,000 .\n`` She is remorseful -- indeed , deeply ashamed -- about what she did , '' Huffman 's lawyers stated in court documents .\nOn March 13 , a federal indictment was unsealed with charges for 50 people , including Huffman and more than 30 other wealthy parents , in the largest college cheating scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice .\nThe indictment alleges the parents paid bribes to William `` Rick '' Singer , a college-entrance tutor guru whom prosecutors identified as the ringleader of the nationwide scam , to get their children into elite colleges , including Stanford , the University of Southern California , Princeton and Georgetown .\nSinger , 59 , who prosecutors said collected $ 25 million in bribes during the years-long scam , pleaded guilty in March to racketeering conspiracy , money laundering conspiracy , conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice . He 's yet to be sentenced .\nAlso indicted was actress Lori Loughlin -- best known as Aunt Becky on the sitcom `` Full House '' -- and her husband , fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli , who are fighting charges they paid Singer $ 500,000 to get their two daughters , Olivia Jade and Isabella , into USC as recruits for the university 's crew team , despite the fact they 'd never participated in the sport .\nHuffman pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of conspiring to commit mail fraud and honest service mail fraud and admitted that she paid Singer $ 15,000 to falsify her daughter Sophia 's SAT score .\n`` I am in full acceptance of my guilt , and with deep regret and shame over what I have done . I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions , '' Huffman tearfully said as she pleaded guilty in court on May 13 .\nHuffman 's lawyers presented Talwani with letters vouching for her character from the actress ' relatives , including her husband , actor William H. Macy , and former colleagues such as Eva Longoria , a fellow cast member on `` Desperate Housewives . ''\nHuffman and Macy later allegedly made arrangements to pursue the scheme a second time , for their younger daughter , before deciding not to do so , according to court documents . Macy was not charged in the scam .\n`` To be sure , Felicity 's relationship with her daughters exploded on March 12th and rebuilding that relationship will be a long process . But I also want you to know Felicity has raised two amazing young women , '' Macy wrote in his letter to Talwani .\nFelicity Huffman ( MORE : among 14 people to plead guilty in college admissions scam )\n`` After her arrest Felicity found a wonderful family therapist and we 've all been going ( in various combinations ) for the last few months , '' Macy wrote . `` There is much to be done , and some of the hurt and anger will take years to work through , but we are making progress . ''


After nearly 40 days of unrest , demonstrators in Portland , Oregon , have successfully evicted law enforcement from a park in the city ’ s downtown , creating their own “ autonomous zone ” like the one that was dismantled last week in Seattle , Washington .\n“ Anti-fascist ” protesters have been waging a nightly war against police and federal law enforcement agents in downtown Portland , centered around a federal courthouse that demonstrators were looking to “ occupy. ” The confrontations gradually became more violent until , in an incident earlier this week , a protester received a gruesome injury from a non-lethal pellet after allegedly throwing a “ canister ” at federal agents .\nTuesday night , the protesters gave up the fight for the courthouse and instead decided to set up an “ occupied ” area in the city ’ s Lownsdale Square , just across the street , according to Fox News .\n“ Demonstrators began erecting tents in downtown Portland ’ s Lownsdale Square , across the street from the federal Pioneer Courthouse , one of the federal properties Homeland Security sought to protect by bringing federal officers into the city two weeks ago , ” the outlet reported . “ A camera at the Portland Standard Building showed protesters beginning to assemble tents late Tuesday night in the same park where ‘ Occupy Portland ’ set up in 2011 . ”\nThe “ Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front , ” an “ anti-capitalist ” group that the Seattle Times reported Monday has organized and supplied protesters for their nightly attacks on the courthouse , informally announced the creation of an “ autonomous zone ” Tuesday night and asked for volunteers to staff the area around the clock .\nPeople are needed here ALL night long , especially in the early morning ! Get on over rn ! Bring some tents . pic.twitter.com/cP5cG77m9m — PNW Youth Liberation Front ( @ PNWYLF ) July 15 , 2020\nThe Portland Police also note that a “ couple hundred demonstrators gathered at Revolution Hall in Southeast Portland and marched all throughout downtown Portland before ending their march at Pioneer Square , ” where they blocked traffic , set up tents , and began erecting barricades using “ industrial kitchen appliances , road blockades , and flashing traffic signs . ”\nPortland Mayor Ted Wheeler , like Seattle ’ s Mayor Jenny Durkan , blamed the unrest on President Donald Trump and federal agents charged with protecting federal buildings .\n“ I told the Acting Secretary [ of Homeland Security ] that my biggest immediate concern is the violence federal officers brought to our streets in recent days , and the life-threatening tactics his agents use . We do not need or want their help , ” Wheeler tweeted earlier this week . “ The best thing they can do is stay inside their building , or leave Portland altogether . Our goal is to end these violent demonstrations quickly and safely . And in the meantime , I asked him to clean up the graffiti on local federal facilities . ”\nInitially , Seattle ’ s Mayor Durkan had the same attitude toward the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest , or CHOP , that sprang up in that city ’ s Capitol Hill neighborhood , calling the demonstration a “ block party ” and suggesting protesters would engage in a “ summer of love . ”\nDurkan was forced to use police to dismantle CHOP after three individuals were killed in gun violence inside and near the boundaries of the occupied protest .\n███ is one of America ’ s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news , opinion , and entertainment . Get inside access to ███ by becoming a member .


Former Mayor Of Baltimore Indicted In Alleged Children 's Book Fraud Scheme\nFederal prosecutors have unsealed an indictment accusing former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh of using her series of self-published children 's books to commit fraud , evade federal taxes and illegally boost her own political campaigns .\nPugh , 69 , resigned in May after public outcry over a scandal involving hundreds of thousands of dollars ' worth of Healthy Holly books that she sold to a nonprofit health care company . She was on the board of that company when she was a state senator , raising questions about self-dealing — and even about the existence of the books , which feature a young black girl who touts the benefits of nutrition and exercise . After Pugh was paid , thousands of books apparently were never delivered .\nThe 11-count federal indictment made public Wednesday reveals a fuller picture of what the government says was a scheme in which she collected payments from the books to line her own pocket , donate to her own political campaign and even buy a house . At the same time , authorities say , customers waited around for Healthy Holly books that never arrived .\nPugh now stands accused of federal crimes including multiple counts of wire fraud , conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion .\n`` Fraud and corruption of the sort we are addressing today undermine the public 's faith in public officials , '' Robert Hur , U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland , told reporters Wednesday in Baltimore . `` This is a tragedy and the last thing that our city needs . ''\nProsecutors also announced that two of Pugh 's associates , former city employees Gary Brown Jr. and Roslyn Wedington , have accepted plea deals .\nBrown , 38 , admitted to crimes including wire fraud for cashing checks that he said Pugh wrote to him for the children 's books , then using the money to pay down Pugh 's debt and make political donations to her . Prosecutors say Brown then tried to cover the ruse by filing false documents to the Internal Revenue Service .\nPugh and Brown , according to the indictment , secretly moved tens of thousands of dollars from the book sales to her political campaign under other peoples ' names — what prosecutors call `` straw donations '' — in an alleged attempt to make it appear as if the money was flowing from other sources .\nWedington , 50 , accepted a plea bargain from the government in a separate ploy in which she dodged federal taxes and then attempted to conceal it . Brown admitted that he assisted in this scheme .\n`` Corrupt public employees rip off the taxpayers and undermine everyone 's faith in government , '' Hur said in a statement .\nIf convicted , prosecutors said Pugh could face lengthy prison time . Authorities are also seeking to recover some $ 769,000 in profits from the alleged fraudulent book sales .\nProsecutors said in the indictment that they might try to seize her home in a wealthy section of northwest Baltimore that authorities allege was purchased and renovated with ill-gotten profits .\nPugh is expected to turn herself in to U.S . Marshals ahead of an expected court appearance and arraignment on Thursday before U.S. District Judge Deborah Chasanow . She is expected to enter a plea of not guilty .\nPugh 's lawyer , Steven Silverman , declined to comment , telling NPR that he `` will address this matter in open court tomorrow . ''\nIn late April , the FBI and IRS raided Pugh 's home as part of the federal investigation into the children 's book scandal first exposed by The Baltimore Sun .\nA week later , her resignation was announced at an event in which she was not present . In her absence , Silverman read a statement in which Pugh apologized for `` the harm I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and the credibility of the office of the mayor . ''\nPugh has been in self-imposed seclusion in her home following an initial leave of absence she claimed was over a bout of pneumonia .


Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh is facing federal charges related to what prosecutors say was a plot to enrich herself through sales of her self-published children ’ s book series , according to a grand jury indictment made public Wednesday .\nPugh , 69 , is expected to self-surrender to U.S . Marshals Thursday before her first court appearance before U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow , according to a news release .\nThe former mayor , who resigned her post in May amid the book sale controversy , is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud , seven counts of wire fraud , conspiracy to defraud the United States and two counts of tax evasion . The indictment was returned Nov. 14 .\nBALTIMORE MAYOR INSISTS LEADERSHIP IS NOT TO BLAME FOR HOMICIDE RATE\nProsecutors say Pugh , who became Baltimore 's 50th mayor on Dec. 6 , 2016 , used her `` Healthy Holly '' book series in order to fund her lifestyle in addition to her political campaign and political interests . She allegedly bought a house and paid down personal debt with the profits , according to The Baltimore Sun .\nREPUBLICAN SEEKING ELIJAH CUMMINGS ' HOUSE SEAT : MANY BALTIMORE RESIDENTS AGREE WITH TRUMP\nThe book scheme allegedly involved Pugh failing to print thousands of copies or double-selling titles in the series , the Sun reported . Prosecutors also allege Pugh listed her 2016 income as $ 31,000 when it actually exceeded $ 322,000 .\nIn April , Pugh announced she was taking an indefinite leave of absence after she had been `` advised by her physicians that she needs to take time to recover and focus on her health . '' She said she felt like she was n't able to fulfill her obligations as mayor because of her deteriorating health brought on by a recent case of pneumonia .\nUltimately , Pugh resigned amid state and federal investigations about her book series , and apologized `` for the harm that I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and to the credibility of the office of the mayor . ''\nPugh was the third Baltimore mayor to face sustained calls to resign . Bernard `` Jack '' Young took her place .\nFormer Baltimore city employees Gary Brown Jr. and Roslyn Wedington pleaded guilty to related charges , it was also revealed Wednesday .


Many years ago , I was a member of a committee that was recommending to whom grant money should be awarded . Since I knew one of the applicants , I asked if this meant that I should recuse myself from voting on his application .\n`` No , '' the chairman said . `` I know him too -- and he is one of the truly great phonies of our time . ''\nThe man was indeed a very talented phony . He could convince almost anybody of almost anything -- provided that they were not already knowledgeable about the subject .\nHe had once spoken to me very authoritatively about Marxian economics , apparently unaware that I was one of the few people who had read all three volumes of Marx 's `` Capital , '' and had published articles on Marxian economics in scholarly journals .\nWhat our glib talker was saying might have seemed impressive to someone who had never read `` Capital , '' as most people have not . But it was complete nonsense to me .\nIncidentally , he did not get the grant he applied for .\nThis episode came back to me recently , as I read an incisive column by Charles Krauthammer , citing some of the many gaffes in public statements by the President of the United States .\nOne presidential gaffe in particular gives the flavor , and suggests the reason , for many others . It involved the Falkland Islands .\nArgentina has recently been demanding that Britain return the Falkland Islands , which have been occupied by Britons for nearly two centuries . In 1982 , Argentina seized these islands by force , only to have British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher take the islands back by force .\nWith Argentina today beset by domestic problems , demanding the return of the Falklands is once again a way for Argentina 's government to distract the Argentine public 's attention from the country 's economic and other woes .\nBecause the Argentines call these islands `` the Malvinas , '' rather than `` the Falklands , '' Barack Obama decided to use the Argentine term . But he referred to them as `` the Maldives . ''\nIt so happens that the Maldives are thousands of miles away from the Malvinas . The former are in the Indian Ocean , while the latter are in the South Atlantic .\nNor is this the only gross misstatement that President Obama has gotten away with , thanks to the mainstream media , which sees no evil , hears no evil and speaks no evil when it comes to Obama .\nThe presidential gaffe that struck me when I heard it was Barack Obama 's reference to a military corps as a military `` corpse . '' He is obviously a man who is used to sounding off about things he has paid little or no attention to in the past . His mispronunciation of a common military term was especially revealing to someone who was once in the Marine Corps , not Marine `` corpse . ''\nLike other truly talented phonies , Barack Obama concentrates his skills on the effect of his words on other people -- most of whom do not have the time to become knowledgeable about the things he is talking about . Whether what he says bears any relationship to the facts is politically irrelevant .\nA talented con man , or a slick politician , does not waste his time trying to convince knowledgeable skeptics . His job is to keep the true believers believing . He is not going to convince the others anyway .\nBack during Barack Obama 's first year in office , he kept repeating , with great apparent earnestness , that there were `` shovel-ready '' projects that would quickly provide many much-needed jobs , if only his spending plans were approved by Congress .\nHe seemed very convincing -- if you did n't know how long it can take for any construction project to get started , after going through a bureaucratic maze of environmental impact studies , zoning commission rulings and other procedures that can delay even the smallest and simplest project for years .\nOnly about a year or so after his big spending programs were approved by Congress , Barack Obama himself laughed at how slowly everything was going on his supposedly `` shovel-ready '' projects .\nOne wonders how he will laugh when all his golden promises about ObamaCare turn out to be false and a medical disaster . Or when his foreign policy fiascoes in the Middle East are climaxed by a nuclear Iran .


“ Do I think he ’ s a civil rights leader ? No , ” said Al Sharpton . Obama and King\nOn this , black civil rights leaders agree : President Barack Obama isn ’ t the second coming of Martin Luther King Jr .\nIt ’ s tempting to compare the two men – “ inevitable , ” the New York Times said this week – but allies and some critics in the black community say Obama is not the leader of a movement . Instead , Obama is playing a different role in a different time .\n“ Do I think he ’ s a civil rights leader ? No , ” said Al Sharpton , who has become close to Obama in part because they are of the same post-movement generation . “ I think he ’ d be the first person to tell you that . ”\nSo when Obama settles into King ’ s footsteps at the base of the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday , half a century after the 1963 March on Washington , black leaders will be listening not for the inspirational rhetoric of a civil rights icon but for the substance of a president .\n“ Those are two different roles , ” said Jesse Jackson , who has had his differences with Obama . “ What we needed from Dr. King was motivation and vision . What we need from the president is appropriation and legislation . ”\nIn other words , Obama is more Kennedy than King . Obama ’ s background is in organizing but he never promised or sought to be a King-style leader . Indeed , of all the things King envisioned in his famous refrain — “ I have a dream… ” — a black president was not one of them . In that way , Obama is blazing a trail that wasn ’ t publicly contemplated when the original civil rights generation pressured presidents to secure access to public accommodations , voting booths , and housing .\n“ The Civil Rights Movement is what created the opportunity to pave the way for the United States to be able to elect the first African American president , ” said Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett . “ So , he stands on the shoulders of those who paved the way , but he also recognizes that as president of the United States he has an enormous responsibility as well to continue – to use Martin Luther King ’ s words – moving the arc of the moral universe , to bend it toward justice . ”\n( Also on POLITCO : Race against time on MLK memorial )\nMuch as Obama treads on new ground , the election and re-election of a black president have forced contemporary black civil rights leaders to confront a challenge that was hard to foresee half a century ago : Their activism is aimed at a fellow person of color .\nAt times over the past five years , the calculus for civil rights leaders who hope to prod the president to act on a range of issues has proven difficult . Obama has received overwhelming support from black voters in two elections , meaning the leaders of civil rights organizations are risking their own standing if they take him on . There ’ s also the danger that they could hurt the president politically by challenging him publicly . At the same time , Obama ’ s willingness to work around some of those leaders has caused consternation that is typically discussed only in private settings .\nObama has elevated Sharpton and his National Action Network by having one-on-sessions with the MSNBC television host and inviting him to group meetings with leaders of longer-standing civil rights organizations such as the NAACP .\n“ We found a respect for each other ’ s different roles , ” Sharpton said . “ He understands that I ’ m an activist and I understand that he ’ s the president [ while ] some of the guys … want him to be the civil rights leader that brings issues to himself . The president can ’ t lead a march on himself . ”\nThrough his years on the public stage , Obama has navigated the tightrope between embracing King ’ s legacy and appearing to co-opt it , but he has been criticized at times for missing on both sides of that mark .\nObama had spoken during his first campaign of being part of the “ Joshua generation , ” a Biblical reference that casts the vanguard of the civil rights movement as the “ Moses generation ” and Obama and others of his age as the successors obliged to carry on their work .\nFive years ago , as he accepted the Democratic Party ’ s presidential nomination in Denver on the 45th anniversary of King ’ s speech , Obama referred to King not by name but as “ the preacher , ” a rhetorical device that some took as an effort to avoid looking like he hoped to be compared to King .


Soon after video recorded by Feidin Santana showing officer Michael Thomas Slager killing Walter Scott went public , Ed Driggers , the chief of the North Charleston , South Carolina , police force where Slager was once employed , spoke to the press . Like an increasing number of law enforcement officials as of late , Driggers found himself suddenly thrust into the media spotlight , tasked with explaining to an outraged nation why one of his officers used deadly force against an unarmed African-American , a 50-year-old father of four , who posed no threat .\nBut although Driggers ’ public appearance was , on a superficial level , all too reminiscent of what we recently saw in places as disparate as Ferguson , Missouri ; Cleveland , Ohio ; Staten Island , New York ; and Los Angeles , California , the substance was different . Because rather than mount a defense of officer Slager — who repeatedly claimed that he shot Scott only after a routine stop over a busted taillight led to physical altercation , one during which he feared for his life — Driggers buried him instead . “ I have watched the video and I was sickened by what I saw , ” he said . “ And I have not watched it since . ”\nWhat a difference a smartphone can make . As Judd Legum of Think Progress has noted , if not for the remarkably brave Santana , who used his smartphone to record the final moments of Scott ’ s life , the only version of the story the world would know is the version Slager told . Which , in plain language , was a monstrous lie . There 's no evidence that Scott tried to use Slager ’ s taser against him , as the officer claimed ; the only reason it was found near the dead man ’ s body , it appears , is because that ’ s where Slager put it . And contrary to what Slager said in the official incident report , he never feared for his personal safety ; as he pumps Scott ’ s back full of bullets he is calm , cool and collected .\nAccording to the work of one local reporter , Slager ’ s neighbors didn ’ t suspect him of being especially malevolent or inclined toward violence . To them , he seemed normal — even nice . Driggers responded with a similar mix of sadness and bewilderment . “ I want to believe in my heart of hearts that it was a tragic set of events after a traffic stop , ” Driggers said on CNN . “ I always look for the good in folks , ” he continued , “ and so I would hope that nobody would ever do something like that. ” Keith Summey , the town ’ s mayor , was also fatalistic : “ When you ’ re wrong , you ’ re wrong , ” he told the press . “ And if you make a bad decision … you have to live by that decision . ”\nNeither man was interested in damning Slager ; and considering he is now facing charges for murder , that ’ s probably for the best . But both men went further than simply biting their tongues ; they made a point of distancing Slager ’ s behavior from that of the overall North Charleston police force , too . “ The one does not totally throw a blanket across the many , ” Driggers said , according to the Los Angeles Times . The mayor and he noted that the NCPD is composed of more than 340 officers . The video traveling all over the world was hideous , no doubt . But it told us nothing of the overall law enforcement system ; it was merely a single man making a horrible , horrible mistake .\nUnfortunately , that wasn ’ t the case , because Slager is not the only officer seen in the video . After Scott had fallen to the ground , prostrate and bleeding , and after Slager had barked at him to put his hands behind his back ( so he could handcuff him before he lost the ability to move his arms ) , officer Clarence Habersham , who is African-American , arrives at the scene . His body language , like Scott ’ s , indicates this was not the first time he ’ d come upon such a scene . He seems unperturbed as he kneels down to check Scott ’ s pulse . He makes no real attempt to save the back-shot man ’ s life . And that ’ s understandable , really ; Scott was likely already dead .\nWe don ’ t know yet what exactly transpired between Slager , Habersham , or the third , Caucasian one who joins them later . We don ’ t know how much they knew , and we don ’ t know when they knew it . What we do know , though , is plenty . We know that the police department of North Charleston was content to treat Slager ’ s story as fact ; and we know that this was not the first time a member of the force had engaged in acts that we ’ d otherwise describe as thuggery . We know that in the past five years , police officers in South Carolina have used their guns against 209 human beings ; and we know that they were exonerated of wrongdoing every single time .\nLastly , we know that Walter Scott — a father , brother , cousin and veteran ; a man who loved to joke and loved to dance , and who was known as the extrovert of his family — died after being shot multiple times when his back was turned . And we know that if he lived long enough to be conscious as Slager tightened the cuffs around each of his wrists , his spent his final moments on this Earth alone , and enchained .


James Earl Ray grips the steering wheel and turns his plans over in his head . A year ago , he was an inmate doing 20 years for armed robbery in Missouri . He made a daring escape , hiding in a corrections truck and bolting out the back door after it left the prison . He 's been on the run ever since . Montreal . Los Angeles . Mexico . A couple weeks ago he moved to Atlanta , renting a room in a cheap boarding house .\n“ I 'm going to hunt deer in Wisconsin , ” he told the clerk at the Aeromarine Supply Co. in Birmingham , Ala. , giving his name as Harvey Lowmeyer . It is a beautiful gun , a pump-action Remington Gamemaster with a polished , walnut stock , a .30-06 gauge with a seven-power Redfield scope .\nRay does n't look much like an outdoorsman . Pasty and thin , with cold , blue eyes and greased-back hair , the 40-year-old drifter could be mistaken for an undertaker or a vacuum cleaner salesman in his dark suit and tie . He has a wad of $ 20 bills in his pocket and some amphetamines to keep him alert , driving him forward .\nThis could be any old day for Mathews , a struggling local beautician . She is driving through Memphis in her gray and black Buick Electra , a boat-like sedan known as a Deuce and a Quarter for its 225-inch length , more than 18 feet .\nAny old day — except today riding next to her in the front seat is Martin Luther King Jr. Abernathy , Young and Lee are in the back seat , and Cotton is in a Lincoln behind them .\nMathews looks into the rearview mirror and tenses up again .\nDespite her admonitions to Redditt at the airport , the police follow .\n11:20 a.m. — Arrives at the Lorraine Motel , a two-story motor court inn in Downtown 's gloomy warehouse district that opened years earlier at the height of segregation as the Lorraine Hotel and caters to black people . King and Abernathy check into Room 306 along the second-floor balcony . Cotton is next door in Room 307 . Young and Lee are downstairs .\n12:05 p.m. — Leaves for a meeting at Rev . James Lawson 's Centenary United Methodist Church in South Memphis . There , a large gathering of pastors and supporters discuss the anticipated march next week as word trickles in that the city has convinced a judge to issue an injunction .\n2:15 p.m. — The meeting breaks up and Mathews drives King back to the Lorraine .\nThe police have a duty to be watching , to keep law and order , but their mission is murky . Some officers were assigned for security , to protect King . But Redditt and his partner , Willie Richmond , have more specific orders — to keep an eye on King 's movements .\n“ The reason for the surveillance being ordered was because Dr. King was a controversial figure ” and because he 'd “ been meeting with local black militants , ” a police report said .\nThough few know it , Redditt and Richmond are only the tip of a much larger operation .\nWith assistance from the local FBI office the previous fall , the Memphis Police Department set up an intelligence unit , sometimes called a Red Squad , whose job is to monitor “ Reds , ” or Communists , radicals , militants and others deemed dangerous by the government . Working closely with the FBI 's William H. Lawrence , the agent in charge of domestic security in Memphis , MPD is assembling files on hundreds of people , some street thugs and criminals but many others law-abiding citizens whose political views simply veer left of mainstream Memphis .\nIt 's a great injustice to Mathews , an attractive woman who favors glittery earrings , permed hair and stylish coats , and could be mistaken for a pastor 's wife or a tea club socialite , yet at heart is a fiery activist .\nIn a way , she is the Rosa Parks of Memphis .\nBack in 1958 , when she was 25 , Mathews dared to venture onto the grounds of the Memphis Zoo on a Sunday , a day reserved for white residents . Like Parks , who refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in that seminal confrontation in Montgomery , Ala. , which helped spark the civil rights movement in 1955 , Mathews stood her ground . When police escorted her out , she followed up with a federal lawsuit that led to the city taking down the infamous “ Thursday Only ” signs that allowed black residents to visit one day a week at the zoo and nearby Brooks Art Gallery . City parks , golf courses and swimming pools were integrated , too .\nSince the sanitation strike broke , her activism is taking an increasingly militant tone .\nMuch of it is traditional movement fare — she gives free haircuts to garbage men at her Orange Mound shop and , as a singer , leads rallies in rousing versions of “ I Shall Not Be Moved , ” “ We Shall Overcome ” and “ Ai n't Gon na Let Nobody Turn Me Around ” — but police are alarmed by her conduct . She forges a public bond with her pastor , Ezekiel Bell , who is making volatile statements that include a reference to burning down the city , and confides she is a fan of Malcolm X , the assassinated black nationalist . And what she sees in King today she likes . 2\n“ We are going to march even if we ca n't get the injunction overturned , ” King told Lawson and the others that afternoon back at the church .\nAs she drops King and his entourage off at the Lorraine , a detective watches from the curb and another eyes them from a peephole in a firehouse across the street .


Bias Is n't Just A Police Problem , It 's A Preschool Problem\nLate one night , a man searches for something in a parking lot . On his hands and knees , he crawls around a bright circle of light created by a streetlamp overhead .\n`` Oh , no . I dropped them way over there , '' he says , gesturing vaguely to some faraway spot on the other side of the lot .\nNew research from the Yale Child Study Center suggests that many preschool teachers look for disruptive behavior in much the same way : in just one place , waiting for it to appear .\nThe problem with this strategy ( besides it being inefficient ) , is that , because of implicit bias , teachers are spending too much time watching black boys and expecting the worst .\nLead researcher Walter Gilliam knew that to get an accurate measure of implicit bias among preschool teachers , he could n't be fully transparent with his subjects about what , exactly , he was trying to study .\nImplicit biases are just that — subtle , often subconscious stereotypes that guide our expectations and interactions with people .\n`` We all have them , '' Gilliam says . `` Implicit biases are a natural process by which we take information , and we judge people on the basis of generalizations regarding that information . We all do it . ''\nEven the most well-meaning teacher can harbor deep-seated biases , whether she knows it or not . So Gilliam and his team devised a remarkable — and remarkably deceptive — experiment .\nAt a big , annual conference for pre-K teachers , Gilliam and his team recruited 135 educators to watch a few short videos . Here 's what they told them :\nWe are interested in learning about how teachers detect challenging\nbehavior in the classroom . Sometimes this involves seeing behavior before it becomes problematic . The video segments you are about to view are of preschoolers engaging in various activities . Some clips may or may not contain challenging behaviors . Your job is to press the enter key on the external keypad every time you see a behavior that could become a potential challenge .\nEach video included four children : a black boy and girl and a white boy and girl .\nWhile the teachers watched , eye-scan technology measured the trajectory of their gaze . Gilliam wanted to know : When teachers expected bad behavior , who did they watch ?\n`` What we found was exactly what we expected based on the rates at which children are expelled from preschool programs , '' Gilliam says . `` Teachers looked more at the black children than the white children , and they looked specifically more at the African-American boy . ''\nIndeed , according to recent data from the U.S. Department of Education , black children are 3.6 times more likely to be suspended from preschool than white children . Put another way , black children account for roughly 19 percent of all preschoolers , but nearly half of preschoolers who get suspended .\nOne reason that number is so high , Gilliam suggests , is that teachers spend more time focused on their black students , expecting bad behavior . `` If you look for something in one place , that 's the only place you can typically find it . ''\nThe Yale team also asked subjects to identify the child they felt required the most attention . Forty-two percent identified the black boy , 34 percent identified the white boy , while 13 percent and 10 percent identified the white and black girls respectively .\nThe Yale study had two parts . And , as compelling as the eye-scan results were , Gilliam 's most surprising takeaway came later .\nHe gave teachers a one-paragraph vignette to read , describing a child disrupting a class ; there 's hitting , scratching , even toy-throwing . The child in the vignette was randomly assigned what researchers considered a stereotypical name ( DeShawn , Latoya , Jake , Emily ) , and subjects were asked to rate the severity of the behavior on a scale of one to five .\nWhite teachers consistently held black students to a lower standard , rating their behavior as less severe than the same behavior of white students .\nGilliam says this tracks with previous research around how people may shift standards and expectations of others based on stereotypes and implicit bias . In other words , if white teachers believe that black boys are more likely to behave badly , they may be less surprised by that behavior and rate it less severely .\nBlack teachers , on the other hand , did the opposite , holding black students to a higher standard and rating their behavior as consistently more severe than that of white students .\nHere 's another key finding : Some teachers were also given information about the disruptive child 's home life , to see if it made them more empathetic :\n[ CHILD ] lives with his/her mother , his/her 8- and 6-year-old sisters ,\nand his/her 10-month-old baby brother . His/her home life is turbulent , between having a father who has never been a constant figure in his/her life , and a mother who struggles with depression but does n't have the resources available to seek help . During the rare times when his/her parents are together , loud and sometimes violent disputes occur between them . In order to make ends meet , [ CHILD 's ] mother has taken on three different jobs , and is in a constant state of exhaustion . [ CHILD ] and his/her siblings are left in the care of available relatives and neighbors while their mother is at work .\nTeachers who received this background did react more empathetically , lowering their rating of a behavior 's severity — but only if the teacher and student were of the same race .\nAs for white teachers rating black students or black teachers rating white students ?\n`` If the race of the teacher and the child were different and [ the teacher ] received this background information , severity rates skyrocketed , '' Gilliam says . `` And the teachers ended up feeling that the behavioral problems were hopeless and that very little could be done to actually improve the situation . ''\nThis result is consistent with previous research on empathy , Gilliam says . `` When people feel some kind of shared connection to folks , when they hear more about their misfortunes , they feel more empathic to them . But if they feel that they are different from each other ... it may actually cause them to perceive that person in a more negative light . ''\nIt 's impossible to separate these findings from today 's broader , cultural context — of disproportionately high suspension rates for black boys and young men throughout the school years , of America 's school-to-prison pipeline , and , most immediately , of the drumbeat of stories about black men being killed by police .\nIf implicit bias can play a role on our preschool reading rugs and in our classrooms ' cozy corners , it no doubt haunts every corner of our society .\nBiases are natural , as Gilliam says , but they must also be reckoned with .\nThe good news , if there is such a thing from work such as this , is that Gilliam and his team were ethically obligated to follow up with every one of the 135 teachers who participated in the study , to come clean about the deception .\nGilliam even gave them an out , letting them withdraw their data — for many of them , the lasting proof of their bias .


The decision to not prosecute NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo in Eric Garner ’ s death was ultimately made by Attorney General William Barr himself — because of “ insufficient evidence ” in the case , Brooklyn ’ s top prosecutor announced Tuesday .\nUS Attorney Richard Donoghue said that after an extensive five-year investigation , the Department of Justice couldn ’ t prove that Pantaleo “ acted in willful violation of the law ” — while noting that Garner was not in a chokehold when he repeatedly gasped , “ I can ’ t breathe . ”\n“ For anyone to die under circumstances like this is a tremendous loss . For the family to suffer as this family has only compounds that loss , ” Donoghue said at a press conference . “ But these unassailable facts are separate and distinct from whether a federal crime has been committed . And the evidence here does not support charging Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo or any other officer with a federal criminal civil rights violation . ”\nHe later said , “ Significantly , Officer Pantaleo was not engaged in a chokehold on Mr. Garner when he said he could not breathe , and neither Officer Pantaleo nor any other officer applied a chokehold to Mr. Garner after he first said he could not breathe . ”\nThe decision to not bring civil rights charges against Pantaleo comes the day before the statute of limitations in the case was to set to expire — and the fifth anniversary of Garner ’ s death on July 17 , 2014 .\nProsecutors met with Garner ’ s family and their advisers Tuesday morning ahead of announcing the decision , which leaked about 90 minutes beforehand .\nDonoghue said the government was tasked with the uphill battle of proving beyond a reasonable doubt “ that an officer willfully used more force than he reasonably could have believed was necessary under the circumstances . ”\nHe also pointed to a disagreement among medical experts as to the cause of Garner ’ s death . One medical examiner ruled his death a homicide , while another couldn ’ t conclusively say whether the chokehold was the cause .\nTwo other medical experts said the heart attack Garner suffered could ’ ve stemmed from a number of causes .\n“ This is significant because it casts doubt upon whether the chokehold itself caused Mr. Garner ’ s death , ” Donoghue said .\nDonoghue said the investigation relied heavily on video of the encounter between Garner and the officers — who were attempting to arrest him for selling loose cigarettes .\n“ The video shows that the officers ’ initial actions were in accordance with established police tactics and procedures , but that the situation deteriorated as it progressed , ” he said .\nPantaleo used “ two approved NYPD tactics ” involving force to subdue Garner , who was resisting arrest — an “ arm bar ” and a “ rear takedown ” or “ seat belt . ”\nIt was the latter maneuver that caused Garner to lose balance and fall backward with Pantaleo , whose body slammed against a store window .\n“ It appears that , in response to that collision , and to maintain a hold on Mr. Garner , Officer Pantaleo wrapped his left arm around Mr. Garner ’ s neck , resulting in what was , in effect , a chokehold , ” Donoghue said .\nDonoghue said the “ significant difference in size and weight ” between the two men contributed to the difficulty in placing Garner under arrest . Garner was 6 feet 2 and weighed close to 400 pounds , while Pantaleo is “ considerably smaller , ” according to Donoghue .\nPantaleo ’ s lawyer Stu London said “ it is always a tragedy when there is a loss of life ” — but defended his client ’ s actions that day .\n“ Officer Pantaleo utilized NYPD approved techniques to make the arrest in this case , ” London said . “ Officer Pantaleo is gratified that the Justice Department took the time to carefully review the actual evidence in this case rather than the lies and inaccuracies which have followed this case since its inception . ”\nA Staten Island grand jury declined to prosecute Pantaleo in 2014 .\nThe cop underwent an NYPD disciplinary trial recently , though a ruling has not yet been issued .\nIn a statement , NYPD spokesman Phil Walzak said the DOJ ’ s decision doesn ’ t affect the departmental proceeding .\n“ Commissioner [ James ] O ’ Neill is now awaiting the report and recommendation from the Deputy Commissioner of Trials , after which he will make the final determination on the matter , ” Walzak said . “ In order to ensure the integrity of the process , the NYPD will not comment further at this time . ”\nPantaleo , who was stripped of his badge and gun , has been on desk duty since Garner ’ s death .\nIn a statement , Police Benevolent Association president Pat Lynch said the feds ’ decision to not prosecute Pantaleo clears his name .\n“ Scapegoating a good and honorable officer , who was doing his job in the manner he was taught , will not heal the wounds this case has caused for our entire city , ” Lynch said . “ We firmly believe that if the NYPD decides the disciplinary case on the facts , free of improper political influence , that Police Officer Pantaleo , will be fully exonerated of any wrongdoing . ”\nMeanwhile , Fred Davie , the chair of the city Civilian Complaint Review Board , which brought the case against Pantaleo in his departmental trial , called on O ’ Neill to fire the cop .\n“ Our last hope for justice in this case lies with the police commissioner , ” Davie said . “ CCRB prosecutors presented evidence at trial that showed — unequivocally — that Officer Pantaleo engaged in misconduct worthy of termination . The evidence directly contradicts the statements made earlier today by the United States attorney for the Eastern District . ”


New Delhi , July 13 , 2020 – West Bengal authorities must immediately release journalists Suraj Ali Khan and Safikul Islam , as well as Islam ’ s wife , Alima Khatun , and drop all the charges against them and investigations into their work , the ███ said today .\nAt about 3 a.m. on June 29 , police arrested Khan and Islam at Islam ’ s home in Arambagh , in the Hoogly district of West Bengal , for alleged extortion , and also arrested Khatun , their lawyers , Pintu Karar and Samim Ahammed , told CPJ over the phone .\nKhan works as a reporter and Islam as an editor and owner at Arambagh TV , a news channel on YouTube that has about 130,000 followers , their lawyers said . Police also detained Islam and Khatun ’ s two children during the arrests , but later released them , Ahammed said . CPJ could not determine on what grounds police were holding Khatun .\nThe journalists ’ arrests were prompted by a complaint filed just after midnight on June 29 by a local resident , whose name was not disclosed , who alleged that Islam and Khan had photographed him cutting down a tree on government land , a criminal offense , on March 16 , and then extorted money from him in exchange for not publishing the image , Ahammed said .\nThe journalists ’ lawyers told CPJ that they believe the arrests were actually retaliation for Islam and Khan ’ s reporting on alleged corruption in government funds distributed to private clubs amid the COVID-19 pandemic .\n“ The arrests of Arambagh TV editor Safikul Islam and reporter Suraj Ali Khan , as well as of Islam ’ s wife , are clear attempts to intimidate the journalists and force them to stop their critical reporting , ” said Aliya Iftikhar , CPJ ’ s senior Asia researcher , in New York . “ The three should be released immediately and all investigations into them dropped . West Bengal police must cease harassing journalists for their work . ”\nKarar and Ahammed told CPJ that they have moved their case to the state High Court after a lower court refused to grant bail , and said the next hearing is set for tomorrow .\nIf charged and convicted with extortion , the journalists could face up to three years in jail and a fine set by a judge , according to the Indian penal code .\nAccording to documents reviewed by CPJ , the West Bengal police have also opened five other investigations into Islam and Khan in recent months . In two cases opened on April 28 and others opened on May 6 , 13 , and 14 , police have investigated the journalists for alleged cheating , forgery , defamation , public mischief , criminal conspiracy , wrongful restraint , provocation that will break public peace , criminal intimidation , disobeying a public servant , obstructing a public servant in discharge of public functions , causing grievous harm to a deter public servant from his duty , and assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from the discharge of his duty , according to those documents .\nPolice are also investigating Khan and Islam for allegedly violating sections of the Disaster Management Law , which was invoked in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic , and for making false statements and printing or publishing news without conforming to rules under the Press and Registration of Books Law , according to those documents .\nOn June 2 , the Calcutta High Court instructed the police not to take any coercive action against Islam or Khan in relation to the investigations , as the journalists assured the court that they would cooperate with authorities and would be physically present at the police station whenever summoned for questioning , according to Karar .\nIslam and Khan followed the court ’ s instructions and appeared before the Arambagh police for questioning on June 10 , Karar said .\nCPJ emailed Hooghly Rural Superintendent of Police Tathagata Basu , who oversees the police responsible for the journalists ’ arrests , for comment , but did not receive any reply . In a press conference held on July 4 , Basu denied wrongdoing on the part of police and claimed that Islam was being investigated for fraud and that Arambagh TV was run illegally , without government permission .\nAhammed told CPJ that no regulatory permission is required under Indian law to run an internet-based news outlet .\nPreviously , in early May , Arambagh TV posted two videos in which Islam and Khatun separately claimed that mobs of 30 to 40 people had surrounded their homes and threatened them over their coverage .\nIn June , the West Bengal police opened an investigation into the editor of Bengali-daily Anandabazaar Patrika following a complaint from a senior bureaucrat over the newspaper ’ s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic , as CPJ documented at the time .


According to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , the administration is “ looking at ” the possibility of banning a range of Chinese apps , including the hugely popular video-sharing app .\nTikTok , which was downloaded 315 million times in the first three months of the year , has long been a source of national security concern for U.S. politicians , and now the Trump administration says it ’ s seriously considering banning the app .\n“ We are taking this very seriously and we are certainly looking at it . With respect to Chinese apps on people 's cell phones , I can assure you the United States will get this one right , ” Pompeo told Fox News on Monday night , in response to a question about banning TikTok and other apps . “ I do n't want to get out in front of the President , but it 's something we 're looking at . ”\nSpeaking about Tiktok in particular , Pompeo said people should only download it “ if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party . ”\nTikTok is owned by Beijing-based startup ByteDance , which responded to Pompeo ’ s comments on Tuesday morning by saying it has never shared any data with the Chinese government .\n“ TikTok is led by an American CEO , with hundreds of employees and key leaders across safety , security , product , and public policy here in the U.S. , '' a TikTok spokesperson told ███ News in response to Pompeo 's comments . “ We have no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience for our users . We have never provided user data to the Chinese government , nor would we do so if asked . ”\nTikTok has tried to distance itself from its parent company in recent months , appointing former Disney executive Kevin Mayer as CEO , in a bid to rebuild trust with regulators .\nTiktok says that all American users ’ data is stored in servers in the U.S. with backups in Singapore , meaning that it is not subject to Chinese law . TikTok is not available in China , but ByteDance operates a separate app , Douyin , specifically for the Chinese market .\nLast year the company ran into trouble when it locked the account of Feroza Aziz , a 17-year-old user from New Jersey , who posted a makeup tutorial that contained stinging criticism of the Chinese government ’ s treatment of Uighur Muslims .\nTikTok said the account was banned on account of a different video that violated its policies , adding that the removal of the viral video about Uighurs was removed due to a “ human moderation error . ”\nTikTok has also been drawn into the wider U.S.-China tech war that has seen companies like Huawei and ZTE sanctioned over concerns that Beijing is using their equipment to spy on users around the world .\nLast year , Sen. Tom Cotton ( R-AR ) and Sen. Chuck Schumer ( D-NY ) sent a joint letter to acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire , requesting the intelligence community conduct a security assessment of TikTok , which , they said , was one of a number of apps that “ support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party . ”\nBut the U.S. is not the only country targeting TikTok . Last week India banned the app along with 58 other Chinese apps , as tensions between Delhi and Beijing grew over clashes along the Himalayan border .\nA report last week suggested the ban in India , which is TikTok ’ s largest market , could cost ByteDance as much as $ 6 billion .\nCover : TikTok removed from Google Play store , App Store after India bans 59 Chinese apps on June 29 , 2020 in Kolkata , India . ( Photo by Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto via AP )


New Delhi , June 23 , 2020 — Police in India ’ s Uttar Pradesh state must thoroughly and transparently investigate the killing of journalist Shubham Mani Tripathi , and ensure that all responsible are brought to justice , the ███ said today .\nOn June 19 , two assailants shot and killed Tripathi , a reporter with the local Hindi daily Kampu Mail , in Uttar Pradesh ’ s Unnao district , according to news reports and his brother Rishabh Mani Tripathi , who spoke to CPJ over the phone .\nAccording to a complaint Rishabh filed to police on the night of June 19 , which CPJ reviewed , Tripathi was returning home on a motorcycle with a friend when he was attacked . He was rushed to a local hospital but died soon after , the complaint said .\nToday , Unnao police arrested Afshar Ahmed and Abdul Bari , the alleged shooters , and Shahnawaz Azhar , an alleged co-conspirator , according to a police press release , which CPJ reviewed .\n“ Uttar Pradesh authorities must show that they are taking violent attacks on journalists seriously . The arrests of three suspects in Shubham Mani Tripathi ’ s killing is a good start , but police must also find the mastermind and all those involved , and hold them all to account , ” said Steven Butler , CPJ ’ s Asia program coordinator , in Washington , D.C. “ We urge Uttar Pradesh authorities to take steps to protect all journalists working in the state . Ensuring that no one can kill with impunity is the most effective measure of all . ”\nAccording to the press release , Azhar told police that local real estate figure Divya Awasthi arranged the journalist ’ s killing in retaliation for Tripathi ’ s articles and Facebook posts about an allegedly illegal construction project she had undertaken . That project was demolished by authorities in response to his reporting , according to that police statement .\nThe police press release alleged that Awasthi instructed a person identified as Monu Khan to pay Ahmed and Bari a combined 400,000 rupees ( $ 5,200 ) to kill Tripathi .\nThat statement said Khan and Awasthi have absconded , and offered a reward for information leading to their arrests .\nRishabh ’ s complaint named Azhar , Aswathi , and eight others who were allegedly involved in the killing .\nAccording to a journalist in Unnao who knew Tripathi and who spoke to CPJ over the phone , Tripathi had mailed letters to state authorities on June 15 saying that he had been threatened . The journalist , who declined to be identified for security reasons , told CPJ that Tripathi named the same 10 suspects as mentioned by his brother in the police complaint .\nUnnao Superintendent of Police Dhawal Jaiswal referred CPJ to Vinod Kumar Pandey , an additional superintendent of police , for comment . When CPJ called Pandey , he was not available to speak ; when CPJ texted him , he did not respond .\nCPJ could not find contact information for the suspects mentioned in the police complaint , or public statements from them regarding this case .


Facebook on Sunday removed the page for Natural News , a far-right conspiracy outlet that had nearly 3 million followers . The page violated Facebook 's policy against spam , the social media company told The ███ on Monday .\nNatural News ’ founder Mike Adams wrote on fellow-right wing conspiracy site Infowars that his site was “ permanently banned ” from posting . He told the Gateway Pundit , another far-right site , that the apparent ban is evidence of a conspiracy against his website .\nThe ███ reported on Saturday that Natural News and its founder had a history of pushing hoaxes and calling for mass arrests against the left . Before the ban , Natural News had more Facebook followers than Infowars at its peak . Natural News used the page to push its trademark combination of natural remedies and far-right conspiracy theories , including disinformation about vaccines .\nFacebook has previously banned similar pages , including those for Infowars—a move criticized by the right as “ censorship ” by Silicon Valley .\nIn May , Facebook issued a new ban against Jones , plus bans against far-right figures like Paul Joseph Watson , Laura Loomer , and Milo Yiannopoulos , as well as anti-Semitie and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan . ( The bans also applied to Facebook-owned Instagram . )\n“ We 've always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate , regardless of ideology , '' a Facebook spokesperson said of the bans in May . `` The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today . ”\nFacebook has cracked down on conspiracy and extremist content over the past year . In August , it banned Infowars and its founder Alex Jones , although Infowars appears to have used similar-sounding pages like “ Newswars ” to promote its content after the ban .\nFacebook also began taking stronger actions against anti-vaccination hoaxes this year , banning anti-vax ads in March . Those ads previously targeted women in measles-stricken areas , The ███ revealed .