Congresswoman Yvette Clarke calls for Gov. Coumo to resign

Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (D NY 9th District) joined the majority of her colleagues in the Brooklyn (NY) congressional delegation in calling for the resignation of NY Governor, Andrew Coumo in light of mounting sexual harrasement allegations against him.

Clarke released the following statement calling for Governor Cuomo to step down:

In light of allthe recent allegations mounting against Governor Andrew Coumo, I have revisited my previous stance in favor of a more expedited call to action. These allegations have reached a level that I believe impedes the Governor's ability to serve the people of New York.

I remain confident that attorney General Letitia James has the resources, prowess, and ability, to conduct a comphrehensive and determinative report. However I must join my colleagues in calling for Governor Andrew Coumo to step down."

Michelle Obama To Be Inducted Into The National Women’s Hall Of Fame

The former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama will be inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

The organization announced its nine-member Class of 2021 on Monday. Along with Michelle Obama, it includes soccer icon Mia Hamm, NASA’s first African American female engineer Katherine Johnson and PepsiCo’s first female CEO, Indra Nooyi.

This year’s edition of the biennial induction ceremony will take place on October 2 in-person, with Covid-19 protocols, at the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York. A free live stream of the ceremony will be available.

“As First Lady, she created: Let’s Move!, a program aimed at ending childhood obesity; the Reach Higher Initiative to help students navigate and better understand job opportunities and get the education necessary for these jobs; Joining Forces, an initiative she co-lead with Dr. Biden to support military veterans, service members, and military families; and Let Girls Learn, a program to support adolescent girls’ education around the world.

“During her eight years as First Lady, Michelle Obama she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, transforming the White House into the “People’s House.” Since leaving the White House, she has continued to have a profound public impact,” the National Women’s Hall of Fame said in a statement.

Judge reinstates third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin

Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill said Thursday that he will reinstate a third-degree murder charge against the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd.

Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd's neck for about nine minutes May 25, is already charged with second-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years, as well as second-degree manslaughter. The third-degree murder charge carries a maximum sentence of 25 years.

Cahill dismissed the charge last fall because he believed that the circumstances of Chauvin's case did not fit, but an appellate ruling in an unrelated case provided new grounds for it days before the trial started and ordered him to reconsider.

An appeals court ruled Friday said Cahill erred when he rejected a prosecution motion to reinstate the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin in October. A three-judge panel said Cahill should have followed the precedent set by the appeals court last month when it affirmed the third-degree murder conviction of former officer Mohamed Noor in the 2017 shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, an Australian woman had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault happening.

In a statement Wednesday, Minnesota Attorney General, Keith Ellison, whose office is prosecuting Chauvin, said: "We believe the charge of 3rd-degree murder is fair and appropriate. We look forward to putting it before the jury, along with charges of 2nd-degree unintentional murder and 2nd-degree manslaughter."

[SOURCE NBC NEWS]

'Graham needs to go back to church': Jim Clyburn reacts to Lindsey Graham's reparations comment

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) reacts to Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) comments that the billions of dollars in aid to Black farmers in the Covid-19 relief bill are reparations.

Senate confirms Michael Regan to lead EPA

The Senate voted on Wednesday to confirm President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, making the state regulator the first Black man to be administrator of the agency.

Michael Regan, 44, was confirmed with a bipartisan vote of 66-34, with sixteen Republicans joining all Democrats in voting to confirm him.

The North Carolinian will lead the agency in an administration that has promised to aggressively fight against climate change and environmental injustice.

He worked at the EPA from 2001-08 in the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. He joined the Environmental Defense Fund in 2008 and left in 2015 to found M. Regan and Associates, a consulting firm on environmental issues. In 2017, he became cabinet secretary for North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality.

Though Regan is not a widely known political figure, he brings his past experience leading North Carolina's environmental agency. His background includes working to hold a business blamed for the toxic PFAS pollution accountable, and his work improving regulation of his state's giant hog farms and releasing a plan to cut climate-damaging fossil fuel pollution from power plants by 70 percent within a decade.

[SOURCE: USA TODAY]