03/09/23
Good morning! It’s Thursday, March 9th.
Nametag Day!
This is great because here’s a FACT about me… I will know someone for years. YEARS. And still, when it’s time to say their name out loud? I’ll get nervous. I’m not talking about close friends, but people I interact with here and there. But like, I know their names. I know their names! And still…
So this is great and, frankly, I wish we celebrated every day.
And now, the news.
Senate Blocks DC Crime Law
-via AP News
The Senate voted on Wednesday to block new crime bills in DC and essentially overrule the district’s crime laws.
Biden has supported the Senate’s vote, which passed on an 84-14 vote, and will sign it when it gets to his desk.
This is the first time in more than thirty years that Congress has nullified the District’s laws through a disapproval process.
As a reminder, DC is not a state.
Also a reminder, they DO want to be a state. Probably because of reasons like this.
DC Sergeant Charged with Murder
-via Buzzfeed News
Also in DC… A police sergeant has been charged with murder after he murdered someone in 2021.
The officer is charged with federal civil rights violation and second-degree murder after bodycam footage showed that officers responded to a report of what appeared to be an unconscious person behind the wheel of the car.
Officers arrived on scene and found 27-year-old An'Twan Gilmore, unresponsive with his foot on the brake and hand on a pistol. After officers tapped on the window to wake up him, he put the car in motion. So, the sergeant shot at the car multiple times.
Gilmore was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Police Department Investigations in Memphis and Louisville
-Tyre Nichols via CNN
-Breonna Taylor via NY Times
In a couple of big-picture related stories…
A court order has delayed the release of more footage from the January police stop that ended in the murder of Tyre Nichols. The unreleased footage is expected to include audio of what was said after the beating and after an ambulance took Nichols to a hospital.
Additionally, the Department of Justice has announced that they will be reviewing the Memphis Police Department at large.
They’ve got time now, since, also on Wednesday, the DOJ released a 90-page report following their investigation into the Louisville Police Department, prompted by the murder or Breonna Taylor in 2020.
The report found far-ranging pattern of discriminatory and abusive law enforcement practices in the department, including excessive force, searches based on invalid warrants, unlawful car stops and detentions during street sweeps, and broad patterns of discrimination against Black people and people with behavioral health problems.
I mean, the instances noted in the report are truly disgusting. I’m not going to list them out here because I don’t know the full extent of my audience and I don’t want to traumatize or retraumatize someone. But I put a link to the report in show notes, if you want more information.
Louisville’s mayor Greenberg vowed to overhaul the department after taking office in January. While next steps are unclear, it’s likely the city will have to make a court-approved roadmap for changes that is approved by both the police department as well as the local government.
Gov. Huckabee Sanders Rolls Back Child Labor Laws
-via CNN
Arkansas’ Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, which is a real bummer of a title for me to read, signed a bill on Wednesday that rolls back child labor laws.
Rolls them back.
Because you know how the Republicans are always like “our children are precious!” before they’re born. And then after they’re like “eh… who cares.”
So previously, anyone under 16 had to get a permit to work, which included getting their parent’s permission and being able to prove their age.
THAT IS NO LONGER NEEDED
Hey, here’s something. A food sanitation company called Packers Sanitation Services just had to pay a $1.5 million fee for employing at least 102 kids between 13 and 17 and putting them to work in jobs that required them to use toxic chemicals and clean sharp saws.
That company operates in eight states… including Arkansas!
Now, why on EARTH would she do this? Well let’s see what her quote is.. Per her spokesperson: “The Governor believes protecting kids is most important, but this permit was an arbitrary burden on parents to get permission from the government for their child to get a job. All child labor laws that actually protect children still apply and we expect businesses to comply just as they are required to do now.”
Ok got it. So you’re just rolling back protections for kids because you’re HOPING businesses don’t do anything to take advantage of the advantage you’ve given them.
Copy copy copy.
No Charges for Six-Year-Old Who Shot Teacher
-via Washington Post
Authorities in Virginia City say there will be no charges for the six-year-old who shot his teacher in January.
The office has yet to decide if any adults will be charged.
Like his parents. Or the teachers who knew about the gun and did nothing.
Or the government that doesn’t really care about protecting anyone from the daily threat of guns.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
I’m proud of nametags. Really doing the work for me. We should all have nametags. Stop expecting me to remember every single name. I do! I do remember your name! I’m just… nervous.
But more than that… more than the joy of realizing I totally got someone’s name right… I’m proud of you. ;;