CLG News

Hundreds demand justice in Minneapolis after police killing of George Floyd | 27 May 2020 | Police and protesters clashed in Minneapolis on Tuesday evening following a demonstration at the intersection where George Floyd was killed in an altercation with several police officers the day before. Hundreds of protesters gathered in the city on Tuesday evening to demand justice after Floyd, who was African American, was killed when a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck as he lay on the ground during an arrest. Footage of the incident showed Floyd shouting "I cannot breathe" and "Don't kill me!"

Four Minnesota cops fired after death of unarmed black man | 27 May 2020 | Four Minnesota police officers have been fired after the death of a black man who was taken into custody and seen on video being pinned down by his neck. Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said the four officers were now "former employees". Footage shows the man, George Floyd, groaning and repeatedly saying "I can't breathe" to the white officer... The FBI has said it will investigate the Minneapolis incident, which took place on Monday evening.

Trump says he may move Republican convention from Charlotte | 26 May 2020 | President Donald Trump raised the prospect of moving the Republican National Convention from Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, complaining that North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has maintained a lockdown of his state because of the coronavirus. Republicans "must be immediately given an answer by the Governor as to whether or not the space will be allowed to be fully occupied," Trump said in an early-morning series of Memorial Day tweets. Without an answer soon, Trump said, the Republicans will be "reluctantly forced" to "another Republican National Convention site."

Andrew Cuomo gave immunity to nursing home execs after big campaign donations --Critics say data proves New York's liability shield is linked to higher nursing home death rates during the pandemic | 26 May 2020 | As Governor Andrew Cuomo faced a spirited challenge in his bid to win New York's 2018 Democratic primary, his political apparatus got a last-minute boost: a powerful healthcare industry group suddenly poured more than $1m into a Democratic committee backing his campaign. Less than two years after that flood of cash from the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA), Cuomo signed legislation last month quietly shielding hospital and nursing home executives from the threat of lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus outbreak. The provision, inserted into an annual budget bill by Cuomo's aides, created one of the nation’s most explicit immunity protections for healthcare industry officials, according to legal experts. Critics say Cuomo removed a key deterrent against nursing home and hospital corporations cutting corners in ways that jeopardize lives. As those critics now try to repeal the provision during this final week of Albany's legislative session, they assert that data prove such immunity is correlating to higher nursing home death rates during the pandemic – both in New York and in other states enacting similar immunity policies.

NYSE's floor to reopen with masks, virus waivers and handshake ban --Splashy bell ringings, IPO celebrations and media broadcasts barred | 25 may 2020 | The New York Stock Exchange is set to reopen its famed trading floor Tuesday, but it won’t be going back to normal. Only one-quarter of the NYSE's usual population of traders will be back when the floor resumes business after a two-month closure prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. Traders who return must wear masks, avoid taking public transportation and follow tough social-distancing rules, with newly erected Plexiglas barriers to help them stay apart. A visitor ban means splashy bell-ringings and celebrations to mark initial public offerings won't be happening anytime soon... To return to their jobs, floor traders must sign a liability waiver that prevents them from suing the NYSE if they get infected at the exchange.

South Carolina election ballots reportedly found in Maryland this week | 22 May 2020 | South Carolina election ballots reportedly ended up in Maryland this week, after mail-in voting for the Palmetto State's June 9 primary has already begun, according to local news reports. South Carolina election officials may cut ties with the company they used, Minnesota printer SeaChange, over the mix-up after about 20 Charleston County absentee ballots were found outside the state, the reports say. Election officials say this isn't the first absentee ballot issue they've had with the company, which prints and mails ballots for 13 South Carolina counties.

Vaccine developer warns virus disappearing thwarts his vaccine development: 'We want COVID to stay' --Coronavirus 'disappearing' so fast Oxford vaccine has 'only 50% chance of working' | 25 May 2020 | Professor Adrian Hill describes the efforts to create a vaccine as a "race against the virus disappearing, and against time". There is only a 50% chance of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine working because cases in the UK are declining so fast, one of the scientists behind it has warned. The University of Oxford's Jenner Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Group began developing a COVID-19 vaccine in January using a virus taken from chimpanzees. But with the number of UK coronavirus cases dropping every day, there may not be enough people to test it on, according to the institute's director Professor Adrian Hill. He told The Sunday Telegraph: "It's a race against the virus disappearing, and against time. We said earlier in the year that there was an 80% chance of developing an effective vaccine by September. "But at the moment, there's a 50% chance that we get no result at all. We're in the bizarre position of wanting COVID to stay, at least for a little while." [Right, so the endgame all along has been to force on the world a rushed, risky vaccine, not stopping the[ir lab-generated] virus. *We'll take your shot after you take ours.*]

GOP sues California over Newsom's vote-by-mail order | 24 May 2020 | Republican Party is suing California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) over his order to send every registered voter in the state a ballot by mail for the November elections. "[California's] election system is already burdened with serious issues. The disastrous Motor Voter program arbitrarily changed voter registration for thousands casting doubt on the integrity and accuracy of our voter rolls," California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said in a statement on Sunday. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, alleges the directive deprives Californians of their constitutional right to vote by making fraudulent voting inevitable.

Italian Government Recruits 60,000 Informants to Spy on Neighbors During Lockdown | 24 May 2020 |The Italian government announced Sunday it is recruiting 60,000 volunteer "civic assistants" as informants to report on anyone violating norms concerning the use of masks and social distancing. The government is recruiting unemployed citizens, especially those who receive social security or unemployment income, as an extension of its uniformed security services during the second phase of the coronavirus lockdown, Italian media reported. The plainclothes informants have received instructions to watch for abuses of state-mandated safety norms and to report on violators. The new measure is meant to prevent citizens from being tempted to slack off in compliance with government norms just because no uniformed police are present, since anyone could be an informant.

Judge in Flynn case hires lawyer as appeals court reviews his decision not to dismiss - report | 23 May 2020 | U.S. District Court Judge Emmett G. Sullivan has taken the unusual step of hiring an attorney to represent him as an appeals court reviews his decision not to immediately grant the Justice Department's (DOJ's) request to dismiss its case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.Sullivan hired attorney Beth Wilkinson who, according to The Washington Post, is expected to notify the D.C. Court of Appeals within the next week of her decision to represent him. Wilkinson reportedly is a go-to for high-profile officials in difficult situations... Rather than granting the DOJ's dismissal, Sullivan appointed a retired judge to argue against the department's position and to consider whether Flynn should be held in criminal contempt for perjury.

20-Yr-Old Boxer Was Moved to Michigan Nursing Home Because He Had Coronavirus; Beat 77 Yr-Old Veteran and Was Still There a Week Later | 22 May 2020 | Numerous disturbing videos circulated social media on Thursday showing a black Michigan man beating an elderly white man and an elderly white woman in a nursing home. Jaydon Hayden, reportedly from Westland, Michigan filmed himself beating elderly white nursing home patients for sport. There were three videos on Bitchute showing the man beating white elderly men and women. The man filmed himself beating the seniors in their beds until they were bleeding.