Atlanta mayor, Keisha Bottoms speaks on new restrictions to mitigate coronavirus

Keisha lance Bottoms,the Atlanta mayor spoke with the local Atlanta CBS station, CBS46 on new restrictions to mitigate coronavirus.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley named AP coach of the Year

Dawn Staley helped guide South Carolina to No. 1 and has now earned coach of the year honors from The Associated Press for the first time.

The veteran Gamecocks coach received 20 votes from the national media panel that selects the Top 25 poll each week.

“It’s a great feeling. It’s cliche as I represent the best team in the country and our coaching staff and our support staff. Our trainers and everybody. It’s great,” she said. “It’s something that we haven’t been able to celebrate, but we will celebrate it together at a later time.”

South Carolina finished the season 32-1, winning the SEC season and tournament championships. The Gamecocks won their final 26 games and were No 1 in the AP poll for the final 10 weeks of the season.

became the second African-American coach to win the AP award, joining Carolyn Peck, who was honored in 1999 when she coached Purdue. The two have long been connected; Peck gave Staley a piece of the NCAA championship net she won that season.

Staley brought that story to light when South Carolina won the NCAA title in 2017. She thought the Gamecocks would have had a good chance to win the title again this season had the NCAA Tournament not been canceled by the coronavirus outbreak.

“I would have liked to continue to face the challenges in the NCAA Tournament,” she said.

[SOURCE: YAHOO SPORTS]

The Supreme Court sides with Comcast in Byron Allen’s racial discrimination case

The U.S. Supreme Court sided with Comcast in a high-stakes civil rights case Monday, ruling that media mogul Byron Allen must show race was the determining reason that the cable company refused to carry his channels in order for his discrimination case to survive.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that a lower court used the wrong legal standard in allowing Allen’s $20 billion racial discrimination lawsuit to proceed. The Supreme Court sent the case back to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California for reconsideration.

Allen, an African American entertainment executive, says the Philadelphia cable giant racially discriminated against him when it refused to carry his cable-TV channels on its systems. Comcast says race had nothing to do with rejecting Allen’s channels, noting that they had low ratings.

The high court did not weigh the merits of Allen’s allegations. At issue was whether a person filing a racial-discrimination lawsuit must allege that race was the determining reason that a contract decision was made, or if a person can merely allege that race was one “motivating factor” for a case to proceed.

“To prevail, a plaintiff must initially plead and ultimately prove that, but for race, it would not have suffered the loss of a legally protected right,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote on behalf of the court, in an opinion released Monday morning.

Allen said he would continue his fight by asking Congress and presidential candidates to revise the statute in question to overcome the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has rendered a ruling that is harmful to the civil rights of millions of Americans,” Allen said in a statement. “This is a very bad day for our country.”

Read the full article here: The Philadelphia Inqurier

Reps. Ayanna Pressley Introduces Legislation to Protect Individuals Experiencing Homelessness During COVID-19 Crisis

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) introduced the Public Health Emergency Shelter Act of 2020, legislation to provide critical funding to states and local governments responding to the needs of families and individuals experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 crisis.

In January, Congresswoman Pressley, along with colleagues in the Congressional Progressive Caucus, launched the People’s Housing Platform—a groundbreaking, progressive housing framework that declares housing as a fundamental human right and underscores progressive’s commitment to tackle the affordable housing crisis. The Public Health Emergency Shelter Act builds on the People’s Housing Platform by specifically calling for emergency grants to protect families and individuals experiencing homelessness and the frontline service providers who work with people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Housing is a critical determinant of public health, and that has never been more true than during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “We have a moral obligation to protect the health and safety of all people, particularly our most vulnerable. By investing $15.5 billion in emergency grants to state and local governments, the Public Health Emergency Shelter Act will ensure that frontline workers have the resources and support they need to protect the health and safety of the nearly 500,000 people across this country experiencing homelessness. In these unprecedented times, this bill boldly affirms that poverty is not a character flaw, and nobody deserves less because they can’t afford more.”

“Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic must be comprehensive and, as such, it must center those most vulnerable among us,” said Congresswoman Tlaib. “Families and individuals dealing with homelessness are more vulnerable to this disease at no fault of their own and need access to safe shelter and necessary medical care. I’m grateful to be joining Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley in prioritizing resources for those experiencing homelessness and those working to serve them.”

Across the United States, more than 500,000 people are experiencing homelessness. Many people experiencing homelessness, including more than 50,000 families with children, often reside in environments that can accelerate the spread of COVID-19 among those experiencing homelessness as well as frontline healthcare workers and human services workers.

Congresswoman Pressley is committed to protecting the right to safe and affordable housing for all in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, she joined colleagues in introducing the Housing is a Human Right Act, which would authorize more than $200 billion in federal spending over 10 years to expand crucial housing infrastructure and reduce homelessness. She also sent letters to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and several of the largest trade associations for landlords urging a moratorium on evictions during this public health emergency.

Kamala Harris Statement on Vote Opposing Consideration of GOP Coronavirus Package

U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) on Sunday released a statement after voting against cloture on Republican bill that aims to address the coronavirus outbreak in the United States by putting the interests of large corporations ahead of the needs of working people.

“The coronavirus pandemic is a public health emergency that is driving an economic disaster for millions of families across our country. People are in their homes scared and suffering right now—Congress must act immediately to strengthen our health care system, expand access to emergency assistance like we do in the midst of any other disaster, and lift up and support working people, families, and small businesses. We need to get this right.

“The Republican bill released today does not address the pain everyday Americans are feeling, nor does it provide support for our overloaded health care system. This bill fails our workers by bailing out big industries without requiring them to keep people employed or ensure workers are protected. I voted against this bill because it fails to meet the urgent demands of this moment.”