Month: November 2021

NY Times: “Jurors on Tuesday found the main organizers of the deadly far-right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017 liable under state law for injuries to counterprotesters, awarding more than $25 million in damages. But the jury deadlocked on two federal conspiracy charges. Still, the verdict was a clear rebuke of the defendants — a…

NY Times: “At The Arkansas Times, a publication I founded 47 years ago, our pages focus on small-scale local issues, like protecting Medicaid expansion from the predations of our state legislature and other elements of Arkansas politics, history and culture. So I was surprised when in 2018 I received an ultimatum from the University of…

The Intercept: “MORE THAN 20 YEARS after Devonia Inman was sentenced to life in prison for a murder he swears he did not commit, a judge in Georgia has overturned his conviction, writing that state misconduct and woefully inadequate defense lawyering rendered Inman’s 2001 conviction unconstitutional. “Either of these constitutional violations, standing alone, demonstrates the fundamental…

TX Observer: “Passed by the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature this Spring and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in May, SB 8 forbids abortion care once embryonic cardiac activity is detected, which is typically around six weeks, and offers no exception for rape or incest. Since the overwhelming majority of pregnant people don’t realize they are pregnant this early…

Political Wire: “A new Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler poll finds Gov. Greg Abbott (R) leading Beto O’Rourke (D) in the governor’s race, 45% to 39%. By nearly 2-to-1, all voters would be more likely to support Matthew McConaughey than O’Rourke as Abbott’s challenger. But in a hypothetical three-way general election contest, Abbott is the…

Slate: “NAACP President Derrick Johnson said that the Kyle Rittenhouse trial amounted to a “warning shot” for Black communities across the country that “vigilante justice is allowed.” At least “in particular communities,” he said in an interview on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday, days after Rittenhouse was found not guilty on Friday on all charges. Johnson said…

NC Policy Watch: “The landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA) is still young at ten and a half years old and it has been challenged and bullied by conservative politicians across the country. Today, however, it’s clear that the law is here to stay and that many of those same politicians who opposed it now realize…

The Intercept: “MORE THAN 20 YEARS after Devonia Inman was sentenced to life in prison for a murder he swears he did not commit, a judge in Georgia has overturned his conviction, writing that state misconduct and woefully inadequate defense lawyering rendered Inman’s 2001 conviction unconstitutional. “Either of these constitutional violations, standing alone, demonstrates the fundamental…

CNN: “When defense attorney Kevin Gough attempted to ban Black pastors from the courtroom during the trial for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, Pastor Jamal H. Bryant said it was an affront to all Black pastors across the country. Bryant said since the civil rights movement, Black ministers have always been there to comfort grieving families during…

North State Journal: “Following months of negotiations between the Democratic governor and Republican legislative leaders, the final package first unveiled on Monday will now guide state spending for the next two years. The passage of the budget, which took place in the state Senate and state House during a period of three days, became a…