Movement on Breonna Taylor’s Case
6 months after her death, Louisville AG Daniel Cameron has announced that the first true action that he’ll take on Breonna Taylor’s case is to send it to a grand jury at some point this week. This means he’ll present evidence to a total of 12 jurors who will decide—depending on the evidence presented—whether any charges will be brought against the Louisville police officers involved in her death. 9 out of the 12 jurors would need to agree that sufficient evidence was presented to prove a crime had been committed.
While this does appear to be a step (FINALLY), critics do want to make sure this is done properly. For example, Breonna’s family wants to seek charges against more officials than just the 3 officers directly involved in her death. Others want full transparency from the proceedings given Cameron has said that updates will only come from his office AND given the fact that he’s been listed as a potential Supreme Court nominee if Donald Trump gets reelected.
Newsom Acknowledges Some Prisoners’ Hard Work
Everyone has seen the pictures of the fiery orange skies as wildfires consume acres upon acres of land on the West coast. California governor Gavin Newsom recently made some inmates and their advocates very happy when he signed a bill last week to create a pathway for the nonviolent prisoners in the state’s inmate fire program to become professional firefighters upon their release. The new law will expunge the records of those who put their lives on the line to battle fires every year, sometimes for as little as $2 a day. They can also have their sentences reduced for each day they spend fighting fires.
The ultimate goal of this move is to set these prisoners up with critical jobs that they’re already trained to do. Newsom’s move is only part of it, however, so let’s hope that fire departments statewide give these inmates the same benefit of the doubt that the governor has.
COVID-19 by the Numbers
We are nearing the threshold of 195K COVID-19 related deaths. The U.S. now represents a total number of 22% of cases and 21% of deaths worldwide. Recent projection models predict December will be particularly harsh for the country and say we could see somewhere between 415K to 600K deaths by January of next year.
Trump is Full of Crap
...or as the kids would say, he’s all cap. Audio evidence of what sensible people acknowledge has finally emerged: Donald Trump purposely downplayed the Coronavirus pandemic to American citizens in an effort to, as he says, not create a panic. He admitted to doing so multiple times to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward while turning around and singing a different tune publicly.
The truth of the matter is, much of the information written just above would not have been possible without his intentionally misleading actions. Much of the partisan bickering around wearing masks wouldn’t even exist had he just been straight up from the beginning. We'd be in a very different place had he only told the truth, but since he didn't it feels like another impeachment trial should be brewing. Let’s hope we don’t have to get that far and that he’s just voted out of office come November 3.
Read here for more of what he told Woodward on BLM, Obama and more.
Congress, What’s Good?
The Senate passed their skinny stimulus, but the House is back in town and they say it’s too skinny. Let the finger-pointing and the deadlock continue.
Now that the whole gang’s back, here’s a taste of what they’ll be focusing on through Thursday:
Condemning racism against the Asian community
Confronting white supremacy in police departments across the country
2020 Watch
What are the most important Senate races of 2020? Your state could be on the list.
Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming presidential debates.
We rarely talk about Mike Pence, so here’s a little news about him: he was going to attend a fundraiser by QAnon conspiracy theorists, but he recently thought twice and backed out.
Charlotta Bass. Know her? She walked so Kamala Harris could run (as the 2nd Black female VP candidate).
Btw, Kamala met with Jacob Blake’s family.
Around the Diaspora
Do y’all think Canada will let some of us in? Their PM just announced a $221M program for Black entrepreneurs.
The 5 African countries hardest hit by COVID-19 are: South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Ethiopia, and Nigeria.
For your post-Rona consideration, JetBlue will expand its flight routes to include more parts of the Caribbean.
Cuba is not here for the international media’s attempts to ignore its success with the Coronavirus.
Getting to the Money
The Knowledge House, co-founded by an Afro Latina, is helping New Yorkers gain the training and professional development needed to excel in the tech industry.
Plug in South LA is hosting its first ever virtual networking conference from tomorrow, September 15 through Thursday, September 17. While you don’t have to be an LA resident or native to attend, they are looking for founders, innovators, and entrepreneurs. The event will feature keynote speakers and one-on-one office hours with corporate executives and venture capitalists to answer all of your burning startup or tech industry questions.
TRESemmé is giving $10K to aspiring Black hair stylists, but are they being genuine?
Buying Black: A Black Business Highlight
Give your favorite space a little refresher with some new new from Her Trendy Decor. The online shop specializes in decorative pillows that are sure to fit all types of design aesthetics.
Culture that Pops
Naomi Osaka won the 2020 US Open and she did it entirely for the culture.
You didn’t miss the Auntie-fest that was Ms. Patti LaBelle and Ms. Gladys Knight’s Verzuz, did you? Here’s a recap, if so.
NBA players Luol Deng and Robert Covington connect with Nipsey Hussle’s business partner to own a piece of and revitalize South Side Chicago.
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