House Judiciary Committee Democrats Demand DOJ Open Investigations in Response to Recent Murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor & George Floyd; Pledge Additional Oversight and Legislation

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 29, 2020
CONTACTS: Shadawn Reddick-Smith, 202-225-3951
Daniel Schwarz, 202-225-5635

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, in response to the recent murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, House Judiciary Committee Democrats sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) demanding prompt action, including the opening of pattern and practice investigations of police misconduct. The letter calls for the DOJ to investigate the prosecutors involved in the case of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed African American man who was shot in cold blood while running in his neighborhood. The letter also calls for DOJ to open pattern and practice investigations into the police departments in Louisville, Kentucky, where Breonna Taylor was gunned down in her own home by police, and in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where George Floyd was killed after a police officer kneeled on his neck and body. The House Judiciary Committee will also be pursuing additional oversight and legislative action in June to address the series of racially motivated violence and unjust policing practices that have resulted in the deaths of African Americans across the country.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) released the following statement:

“America’s history of racism and racially motivated violence is a plague that continues to live on through generations. It’s an ugly truth that can be seen today in disproportionate rates of COVID deaths, in discriminatory police enforcement of social distancing rules, in racial profiling, and in the unconstitutional treatment of African Americans by law enforcement, among other examples. The federal government has a critical role to play in promoting a culture of accountability for all law enforcement organizations, including at the state and local level. This is why House Judiciary Democrats have sent a letter today to the U.S. Department of Justice to demand action. In addition, I expect, as the primary committee of jurisdiction over civil rights law and law enforcement, the Judiciary Committee will be engaging in oversight and considering legislation in the coming weeks to address the crisis of racial profiling, excessive force by law enforcement and lost trust between police departments and the communities they serve.”

Federal law prohibits any governmental authority from engaging in a “pattern or practice” of conduct by law enforcement officers that deprives persons of their constitutional rights. This federal statute also authorizes the Attorney General to initiate a civil action to obtain appropriate equitable or declaratory relief to eliminate such a pattern or practice.

In the wake of high-profile applications of fatal force by police against unarmed African American men in Ferguson, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Chicago, the Justice Department investigated policing practices in those cities and uncovered rampant abuses of constitutional rights and civil liberties. During the Obama Administration, the Justice Department negotiated consent decree agreements with the police departments in all four cities.

Following President Trump’s election and his appointment of Jefferson B. Sessions as Attorney General, the Justice Department abruptly changed its interpretation of its statutory role to eliminate patterns and practices of unconstitutional conduct in local police departments.

In May 2019, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Chairwoman & Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-CA) and several House Judiciary Committee Democrats sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice seeking information about actions it was taking to reduce police-involved violence, including its use of consent decrees and pattern and practice investigations. To date, there has been no response. On September 19, 2019, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing to address unconstitutional conduct by state and local law enforcement officials.

In addition to Chairman Nadler, the letter was signed by Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Karen Bass (D-CA), Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), David N. Cicilline (D-RI), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Val B. Demings (D-FL), J. Luis Correa (D-CA), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Lucy McBath (D-GA), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL), and Veronica Escobar (D-TX).

Full text of yesterday’s letter is available here and below. https://judiciary.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2020-05-28_letter_to_ag_barr_and_aag_drieband_in_response_to_recent_murders_of_ahmaud_arbery_breonna_taylor_george_floyd.pdf?utm_campaign=2830-519

May 28, 2020


The Honorable William Barr The Honorable Eric Dreiband
Attorney General of the United States Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 Washington, D.C. 20530-0001

Dear Attorney General Barr and Assistant Attorney General Dreiband:

We the undersigned Members of the House Judiciary Committee ask that the Department of Justice: (i) evaluate the actions of local officials responsible for investigating the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, including the role played by local prosecutors, and whether they conspired to deprive Mr. Arbery of his constitutional rights, (ii) initiate an investigation into whether the death of Breonna Taylor, an unarmed COVID-19 first responder who was shot eight times by Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers while asleep in her own apartment, was part of a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct by the LMPD, and (iii) investigate the death of George Floyd while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) including whether it was part of a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct by the MPD. We further ask that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, and the Department of Justice Community Relations Service brief the Committee on the status of these matters at the earliest practical time.

Facts Pertaining to the Death of George Floyd

Mr. Floyd’s detention by the MPD, which occurred yesterday and was captured on video, is the latest in a string of high profile and outrageous extrajudicial killings of African Americans suspected of committing minor criminal violations and is eerily reminiscent of the NYPD killing of Eric Garner. The nine-minute video appears to show an officer kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck as he begs for help, stating repeatedly that he can’t breathe.[1]

MPD officers claim that Mr. Floyd was resisting their attempts to arrest him for forgery—a non-violent offense.[2] As the officer applied the full force of his full body weight on top of Mr. Floyd with a knee to the neck, bystanders called for officers to reduce the amount of force being applied.[3] “He’s not even resisting arrest right now, bro,” one bystander tells the officer and his partner.[4] One bystander observed that the officer was cutting off Mr. Floyd’s air supply: “You’re…stopping his breathing right now, you think that’s cool?”[5] After about five minutes into the video, Mr. Floyd appears to go unconscious.[6] Police then called an ambulance which took Mr. Floyd to the Hennepin County Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.[7]
There simply is no excuse for any law enforcement officer to treat any human being in the brutally callous way the Minneapolis Police Department treated Mr. Floyd, apparently causing his death. We applaud MPD’s decision to fire four of the officers involved but call for an investigation into the full extent to which all persons involved may be civilly or criminally liable for Mr. Floyd’s death, including whether it was part of a pattern of civil rights violations by the MPD.[8]

Facts Pertaining to the Killing of Ahmaud Arbery

The killing of Mr. Arbery and its subsequent investigation are reminiscent of early 20th century lynchings in the Jim Crow South. On February 23, 2020, Travis and Gregory McMichael killed Mr. Arbery while he was out for a jog, purportedly because they suspected him of committing a burglary. Gregory McMichael was a former police officer and investigator with the Glynn County Police Department (GCPD) and Brunswick Judicial Circuit, the entities responsible for investigating the killing. The killing was captured on video, yet law enforcement refused to arrest the McMichaels for 74 days—until the video was leaked to the public on May 7, 2020.

Gregory McMichael’s status as a former law enforcement officer, in addition to his relationship with the officials responsible for investigating Mr. Arbery’s killing, raise questions as to whether some combination of racial bias, conflicts of interest, or gross negligence led to Mr. Arbery’s death and compromised the integrity of the subsequent investigation. Reports indicate that Gregory McMichael worked as an investigator with the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office under Jackie L. Johnson, the attorney who allegedly instructed responding officers to refrain from arresting the McMichaels at the scene. Reports also indicate that McMichael had a history of failing to complete required use-of-force and firearms trainings, and that in 2014, Johnson intervened on his behalf to waive those requirements so that he could continue to work as an investigator in her office.

In 2019, McMichael was stripped of his arrest powers due to his continued failure to comply with peace officer use-of-force training standards. On February 27th, 2020, the Georgia Attorney General’s Office received a letter from Johnson indicating her intent to recuse herself from the case. In this letter, she omitted any reference to communications she had with the GCPD regarding the arrest of the McMichaels.

Reports indicate that Johnson personally recruited George Barnhill, District Attorney for the Waycross Judicial District, to take over the case following her recusal, another fact she omitted from her recusal letter. Barnhill’s son works as an assistant district attorney under Johnson’s supervision, and apparently worked with McMichael on a prior prosecution involving Mr. Arbery—yet another fact Johnson omitted in her communications with the Georgia Attorney General’s Office. The day after the killing, Barnhill advised the GCPD that they lacked probable cause to arrest the McMichaels for killing Mr. Arbery.

On April 7, 2020, Barnhill decided to recuse himself based on his son’s work with McMichael on the prior case involving Mr. Arbery, a fact which Barnhill claims to have discovered in early March 2020. In two communications regarding his decision to recuse, Barnhill defended his refusal to charge the McMichaels for killing Mr. Arbery. In doing so, Barnhill accepted the McMichaels’ version of the events, including their self-serving assertions that: (1) they confronted Arbery with openly drawn firearms because they had probable cause to believe Mr. Arbery burglarized a home that was under construction, (2) Mr. Arbery violently attacked Travis McMichael, and (3) Travis killed Mr. Arbery in self-defense. Barnhill also seemed to justify Mr. Arbery’s killing by citing his prior criminal record and that of his family members.[9] Finally, Barnhill falsely asserted that there was a video recording of Mr. Arbery “burglarizing a home immediately preceding the chase and confrontation.”[10]

Several evidentiary sources undermine Barnhill’s conclusions, including video surveillance footage of several individuals—of different races—walking in and out of the home construction site that the McMichaels accused Mr. Arbery of burglarizing. Also, the owner of the home construction site, alleged burglary victim Larry English, stated that there was no property stolen from the site.

Facts Pertaining to the Killing of Breonna Taylor

As with Mr. Arbery, Breonna Taylor’s tragic death highlights the need for federal oversight of state and local law enforcement agencies to ensure they remain accountable to the communities they serve. Ms. Taylor was shot eight times and killed by LMPD Criminal Interdiction Division officers executing a “no-knock” search warrant on her apartment during the early morning hours of March 13, 2020. Apparently, the subject of the warrant was already in police custody prior to LMPD officers arriving at Ms. Taylor’s apartment. Upon arrival, the officers, who were in plain clothes, did not knock and did not identify themselves as police.[11] Ms. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, a licensed gun owner, used his firearm to defend the home against what he believed to be an attempted burglary.[12] The officers fired a hail of bullets into the apartment, over twenty rounds, striking Ms. Taylor eight times and killing her.[13] The officers were not wearing body cameras.[14]

The LMPD claims that despite securing a “no-knock” warrant, the officers knocked multiple times and announced their presence. LMPD also arrested Mr. Walker for attempted murder and first-degree assault, despite his claims that he lawfully used his firearm in self-defense pursuant to the “castle-doctrine” which would be an absolute affirmative defense to the charges. As of May 13, 2020, Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Wine was continuing to pursue Walker’s prosecution, raising questions about whether the prosecution is intended to provide cover for charges of officer misconduct. Ms. Taylor’s killing is the latest in a string of excessive force allegations against the LMPD, all of which require federal scrutiny into whether the LMPD is engaging in a pattern or practice of depriving individuals of their constitutional rights pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 12601.[15]

The decision to prosecute Mr. Walker for defending his home with a lawfully possessed firearm, especially when compared to the investigation into Mr. Arbery’s killing, raises serious public concerns over whether law enforcement can be trusted to enforce the law with fairness and transparency and in a manner that values the lives of African American citizens.
_____________________________________________________

The killings of Mr. Floyd, Mr. Arbery, and Ms. Taylor all illustrate the need for national evidence-based policing and training standards that promote safe and humane local, state, and federal law enforcement practices, as well as an increase in federal resources to incentivize reform. In response to Ms. Taylor’s killing, the LMPD has imposed additional oversight for no-knock warrants and now requires all sworn officers to wear body cameras when serving warrants.[16]

The fair, transparent, and equal administration of justice is a bedrock principle for citizens to maintain the trust required to govern themselves in an ordered society. However, public trust in the blind administration of justice is being seriously tested by recent high-profile killings of African Americans during attempts to enforce state laws as well as by the lack of transparency regarding how and why those killings occurred. It is for these reasons that we are today asking the relevant sections of the Department to: (1) review the role of local prosecutors in the Ahmaud Arbery case and whether they conspired to deprive Mr. Arbery of his constitutional rights, (2) initiate a “pattern or practice” investigation into the LMPD in the Breonna Taylor case, (3) support existing investigations into the death of George Floyd while in custody of the Minneapolis Police Department, and (4) provide a briefing to the members of this Committee regarding all three matters. We look forward to hearing from your office.

Sincerely,


________________________________________
[1] FBI investigating after man dies in Minneapolis Police custody; video shows him saying “I can’t breathe,” KARE11, May 26, 2020.
[2] “Being Black in America Should Not Be A Death Sentence”: Officials Respond to George Floyd’s Death, WCCO CBS Minnesota, May 26, 2020.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] WCCO CBS Minnesota, supra, note 2.
[7] KARE11, supra, note 1.
[8] See MPD Chief Arradondo: 4 Police Officers Fired Following Death of George Floyd, WCCO CBS Minnesota, May 2020.
[9] See Email from George Barnhill to Blair McGown and Karen Crittendon, dated Apr. 7, 2020 (“This family are not strangers to the local criminal justice system. From best we can tell, Ahmaud’s older brother has gone to prison in the past and is currently in the Glynn jail, without bond, awaiting new felony prosecution. It also appears a cousin has been prosecuted by DA Johnson’s office. Ahmaud, the deceased, had a juvenile and adult felony record.”); see also, Undated Letter from George Barnhill to Captain Tom Jump (“Arbery’s mental health records & prior convictions help explain his apparent aggressive nature and his possible thought pattern to attack an armed man”).
[10] See Barnhill Email, supra note 1.
[11] Complaint at 7, Palmer v. Hankison, No. 20-CI-002694 (Jefferson Cnty. Cir. Ct. Apr. 27, 2020).
[12] Id. at 3, 10.
[13] Id. at 9.
[14] Nick Picht, LMPD officers serving warrant at Breonna Taylor’s home were not wearing body cameras, WAVE 3 News, May 16, 2020.
[15] See Complaint, supra note 3, at 4 (“Cosgrove has a prior history of shooting a Louisville resident seven times,” “Defendant Hankison has a prior history of unnecessary force and corruption within his employment”); see also, Man sues LMPD, Metro Government for excessive force claims during traffic stop, WLKY, Aug. 19, 2019; see also, Sarah Ladd, LMPD officers held family at gunpoint in botched drug arrest, lawsuit says, Louisville Courier Journal, Oct. 30, 2019; see also, Jason Riley, LMPD officer fired over tasing incident sues to get job back, WDRB.com, Jan. 21, 2020.
[16] Tessa Duvall and Darcy Costello, Louisville Metro Police to toughen policies on no-knock warrants, body cameras, Louisville Courier Journal, May 19, 2020.

Police chiefs condemn knee-on-neck killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis cop

Demonstrators in Los Angeles on Wednesday protest the killing of George Floyd. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Story by Yahoo News
Written by Dylan Stableford

Police chiefs around the country publicly condemned the actions of the Minneapolis officer who was seen in a video kneeling on the neck of a prone black man who struggled and gasped for breath for nearly eight minutes. The man, George Floyd, 46, who was unarmed and surrounded by police as he lay on the ground, died in custody on Monday.

The footage triggered near-universal outrage, including among law enforcement officials. Four Minneapolis officers were fired the next day, as local and federal authorities launched an investigation. Minneapolis was rocked by protests that turned violent.

The arresting officer, Derek Chauvin, is a 19-year veteran who has been the subject of a dozen police conduct complaints that resulted in no disciplinary action. Chauvin’s use of his knee to pin Floyd to the ground was a technique not approved by the city’s police department, and it drew widespread condemnation from U.S. police officials.

In a video shot by a bystander, Floyd can be heard pleading with the officer, “Please, please, please, I can’t breathe.”

William Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations, said he “can’t see any legal justification, any self-defense justification or any moral justification” for Chauvin’s actions.

Floyd’s case drew immediate comparisons, including by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to the death of Eric Garner, who died after being placed in a chokehold by an NYPD officer in 2014. The officer, Daniel Pantaleo, was vigorously defended by the city’s police union, and many fellow officers supported his actions. Garner was also unarmed, but he was on his feet and arguing with officers when he was grabbed from behind.

Floyd, who worked as a security guard at a nightclub, was handcuffed and on the ground. Police had been called to the scene by a store owner who believed a customer was trying to pass a counterfeit bill.

“I haven’t heard anybody justify this,” Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told the Wall Street Journal, adding that he couldn’t recall such unanimous condemnation of an officer’s actions by fellow police officers.

“The death of Mr. Floyd is deeply disturbing and should be of concern to all Americans,” said a statement from the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which is headed by Acevedo. “The officers’ actions are inconsistent with the training and protocols of our profession.”

The statement commended Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo for his “swift and decisive action” in firing the officers involved.

“It is very evident that what occurred there was wrong,” Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina said Wednesday. “There is no training across anywhere in this country — especially here in the city of Miami — that teaches someone to take that kind of action. There is a lack of humanity that is exhibited there.”

[Tragic video highlights systemic problem: Minneapolis police kill black people 13 times more than whites]

Police chiefs in Texas, in particular, were quick to condemn the killing. Floyd was a native of Houston and moved to Minneapolis five years ago.

“This is heart wrenching and we must be better than this or these senseless deaths will continue to occur,” Austin, Texas, Police Chief Brian Manley wrote on Twitter. “#GeorgeFloyd was telling officers he could not breathe but to no avail.”

“We in law enforcement CAN’T look at the George Floyd case and turn a blind eye!” Round Rock, Texas, Police Chief Allen Banks tweeted. “There is NO justification for these actions! We MUST hold officers accountable for atrocious decisions!”

“We ALL should condemn this type of policing,” Pflugerville, Texas, Police Chief Jessica Robledo wrote. “There is no place for this abuse in our profession. When you hear these words you need to STOP! We are better than this!”

“I sadly must again address my officers and ask how they felt about the unlawful homicide of George Floyd, an American citizen In Minneapolis,” University of Texas Police Chief David Carter tweeted. “Police leaders must confront the failures of our profession or we are doomed to repeat them and cast further doubt on our legitimacy.”

On Wednesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called for Chauvin’s arrest.

“I’ve wrestled with, more than anything else over the last 36 hours, one fundamental question: Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?” Frey said. “If you had done it, or I had done it, we would be behind bars right now. And I cannot come up with a good answer to that.”

Even President Trump, who has been known to reflexively side with police in similar cases, called for a swift federal investigation into Floyd’s death.

“My heart goes out to George’s family and friends,” he tweeted. “Justice will be served!”

Protests in Minneapolis turned deadly overnight, with a fatal shooting and stabbing, widespread looting and fires in the city. Police deployed tear gas in an attempt to control the rioting, and National Guard troops were called in.

A dissent from the general condemnation was voiced by Lt. Bob Kroll, president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, who said, “Now is not the time to rush to judgment and immediately condemn our officers.

“We ask that the community remain calm and the investigation be completed in full,” Kroll added.

But police officials elsewhere said they had seen enough.

“There is no need to see more video. There is no need to wait to see how ‘it plays out,’” Chattanooga, Tenn., Police Chief David Roddy tweeted. “There is no need to put a knee on someone’s neck for NINE minutes. There IS a need to DO something. If you wear a badge and you don’t have an issue with this ... turn it in.”

“The actions I watched in the video were incredibly disturbing and go against the basic law enforcement principle of preservation of life,” Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore tweeted Wednesday, shortly before a violent protest over Floyd's killing broke out along the 101 Freeway. “The lack of compassion, use of excessive force, or going beyond the scope of the law, doesn’t just tarnish our badge — it tears at the very fabric of race relations in this country.”

“I am angry,” Fort Smith, Ark., Police Chief Danny Baker said in a Facebook video. “I think it’s important for Fort Smith and for our community for me to step up and say something, because silence is not working.”

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Read More: https://news.yahoo.com/police-chiefs-condemn-george-floyd-killing-death-knee-minneapolis-officer-203423522.html?.tsrc=notification-brknews

Democrats Push for More Black Business Stimulus

From February to April 2020, the number of active Black business owners fell over 40% (from 1.1 million to 640,000), according to a new paper by UC Santa Cruz economics professor Robert Fairlie. This decline was more severe among African Americans than the decline among business owners who are Latino (32%), Asian American (26%), or White (17%). See academic working paper and Washington Post story.

According to a survey commissioned by Color of Change and UnidosUS, 69% of Black business-owners applied for $50,000 or less when applying for federal relief loans and only 8% of Black business-owners received the amount they requested. Color of Change President Rashad Robinson stated in the New York Times, “if we don’t get policies to protect these communities, we will lose a generation of Black and brown businesses, which will have deep impacts on our entire country’s economy.”

The African American Mayors Association is asking Congress to include Senator Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) RELIEF for Main Street Act into the next COVID-19 stimulus legislation. Senator Booker’s proposal calls for $50 billion to be earmarked for states and local municipalities to allocate to small and minority-owned businesses through loans and grants. Third Way proposes a number of ways to save small businesses, including a recommendation to support Senator Booker’s Main Street Act, as well as the proposed Saving Our Street Act by Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) to provide $124.5 billion to establish a Microbusiness Assistance Fund.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson partnered with the National Action Network and MBE Capital Partners to provide $100 million in loans to minority and women-owned businesses in urban communities through the existing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Of the total $660 billion allocated as PPP funds, as of May 26 the Small Business Administration has approved $511 billion in loans with an average loan size of $115,713.

The House and Senate seem poised to pass a bipartisan bill that would relax the requirements of the Paycheck Protection Program so that the loans extended to businesses can be forgiven more easily.

'I can't breathe': George Floyd dies after pleading with officer during Minneapolis detainment

Memorial spot in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the late George Floyd by Black Lives Matter (Kerem Yucel / AFP - Getty Images)

Story by NBC News
Written by Elisha Fieldstadt and Kurt Chirbas and Emmanuelle Saliba

A man exclaiming "I can't breathe" as a Minneapolis police officer pinned him to the ground and put his knee on the man's neck for about eight minutes died Monday night, prompting the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to step in and investigate.

Video of the incident shows that a white police officer had a black man pinned to the ground next to the back tire of his patrol car with his knee on the man's neck.

"Please, please, please, I can't breathe," the man begs. "My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Please, please. I can't breathe."

Onlookers outside the Minneapolis deli urge the officer to get off the man.

"You're stopping his breathing right now, you think that's cool?" one man says. "His nose is bleeding. Look at his nose!" says a woman.

The officer does not budge.

And then the man goes silent. More people begin to intervene and call for the officer or his partner to check for a pulse. The officer remains on the man's neck, even as he lies apparently unresponsive, for a total of about eight minutes before paramedics arrive and the man is placed on a stretcher.

"The man looked already dead before the ambulance even got there. He was clearly trying to tell them he couldn't breathe, and they ignored him," Darnella Frazier, one of the people who recorded the incident, told NBC News.

NBC News does not know what happened before the video recording began.

Civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump said in a statement that he was representing the family of the man, whom he identified as George Floyd.

"We all watched the horrific death of George Floyd on video as witnesses begged the police officer to take him into the police car and get off his neck. This abusive, excessive and inhumane use of force cost the life of a man who was being detained by police for questioning about a non-violent charge," Crump said.

"We will seek justice for the family of George Floyd, as we demand answers from the Minneapolis Police Department," Crump added. "How many 'while black' deaths will it take until the racial profiling and undervaluing of black lives by police finally ends."

Minneapolis police said in a statement early Tuesday that the officers had responded to a report of a forgery in progress and found the suspect in his car. He stepped out of the car when he was ordered to, police said, but then physically resisted officers.

"Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress," the statement said. "Officers called for an ambulance. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance where he died a short time later."

The four officers involved have been fired, Mayor Jacob Frey tweeted Tuesday afternoon.

"This is the right call," he said.

The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis said in a statement that it was not the time to rush to judgment and that the officers were fully cooperating in the investigation.

"We must review all video. We must wait for the medical examiner's report," the statement said. "Officers' actions and training protocol will be carefully examined after the officers have provided their statements."

Initially, police said the department had called in the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate independently. A short time later, the department announced that the FBI would also be investigating.

"We put out the information that we believed to be wholly honest and true. As we dug into it deeper, we realized that in fact it would be appropriate to have the FBI be apart of this investigation as well," said the department's director of public information, John Elder.

Police Chief Medaria Arradondo added during a news conference Tuesday morning: "There was additional information that I had received, quite frankly, from a community source that just provided more context than what I had preliminary, originally." That prompted him to get the FBI involved "knowing that there could be a question of civil rights."

Federal agents were on the ground, Arradondo said. Body camera video was available, but has not been made public. Police said no weapons were used by anyone involved in the incident.

He said the officers were on paid leave. Neither of the officers in the video has been identified by the police.

The state public safety bureau said investigators would like to speak with anyone who recorded or witnessed the incident. The bureau would be sharing its findings with the FBI and presenting the completed investigation to the Hennepin County attorney's office for review.

"What we saw was horrible, completely and utterly messed up," Mayor Jacob Frey said of the video during the news conference. "I believe what I saw, and what I saw was wrong at every level."

"This man's life matters," Frey said. "He should not have died. He was a human being, and his life mattered. ... Whatever the investigation reveals, it does not change the single truth that he should be with us this morning."

"Being black in America should not be a death sentence," Frey said. "When you hear someone calling for help, you are supposed to help, and this officer failed in the most basic human sense."

A protest was planned for Tuesday night at the scene. Frey encouraged protesters to express their anger but asked them to do so safely and while social distancing.

Jessi Zendejas asked people who remembered the "gentle giant" who worked as a security guard at a Minneapolis bar and restaurant to "please stand with us."

"Everyone who knows him knew he loved his hugs from his regulars when working as a security guard and would be mad if you didn’t stop to greet him because he honestly loved seeing everyone and watching everyone have fun," Zendejas wrote on Facebook.

Jovanni Thunstrom, the owner of Conga Latin Bistro, said Floyd had worked there as a security guard for more than five years. He said Floyd was also a friend and had been a tenant of his.

He wrote on Facebook that he first saw the video and later found out the person who died was Floyd. He said he was writing the post through teary eyes.

"My employee George Floyd was murdered by a police officer that had no compassion, used his position to commit a murder of someone that was begging for his life," Thunstrom wrote.

In a statement, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said: "Justice must be served for this man and his family, justice must be served for our community, and justice must be served for our country."

"We heard his repeated calls for help. We heard him say over and over again that he could not breathe. And now we have seen yet another horrifying and gut-wrenching instance of an African American man dying," Klobuchar said.

In a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Minnesota called for a fair investigation and justice for Floyd.

"Nearly six years after Eric Garner's death in New York — and four years after Philando Castile's in Minnesota — this tragic video shows how little meaningful change has emerged to prevent police from taking the lives of Black people," said Paige Fernandez, policing policy adviser for the national ACLU. "Make no mistake: George Floyd should be alive today. The officers responsible must be held accountable."

"The public has seen the video," Fernandez added. "To call this a 'medical incident' is an insult."

4 Minneapolis Police Officers Fired Over George Floyd Death

The move comes comes after a video showed an officer kneeling on the neck of Floyd, an unarmed Black man, on Monday.

Story by Huffington Post
Written by By Hayley Miller

Four Minneapolis police officers were fired Tuesday following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died on Monday after an officer kneeled on his neck while he was handcuffed on the ground, shouting that he couldn’t breathe.

Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced their terminations during a news conference. He did not publicly identify the officers.

“This is the right call,” Mayor Jacob Frey wrote of the firings in a Facebook post.

Bystander video that circulated on social media shows an officer who appears to be white pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck, while Floyd is pinned face-down on the street. Floyd can be heard repeatedly pleading with officer to get up.

“Please man, I can’t breathe,” Floyd says. “I cannot breathe. I cannot breathe.”

Within minutes, the video shows Floyd closing his eyes and no longer speaking. The officer appears to keep his knee on Floyd’s neck, even as onlookers begin shouting that he isn’t moving and demand that officers help him. The video shows a second officer nearby, looking in the direction of onlookers.

Police called for an ambulance but the man died shortly after arriving at a hospital, the Minneapolis Police Department said in a press release.

Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating Floyd’s death. The bureau said in a statement Tuesday that it will present its findings without recommendation to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for review.

The FBI has opened a separate federal civil rights investigation into the matter at the request of the Minneapolis Police Department, Arradondo said.

Judge rules against Florida on felons paying fines to vote

Story by AP

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida law requiring felons to pay legal fees as part of their sentences before regaining the vote is unconstitutional for those unable to pay, or unable to find out how much they owe, a federal judge ruled Sunday.

The 125-page ruling was issued by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle in Tallahassee. It involves a state law to implement a 2016 ballot measure approved by voters to automatically restore the right to vote for many felons who have completed their sentence. The Republican-led Legislature stipulated that fines and legal fees must be paid as part of the sentence, in addition to serving any prison time.

Hinkle has acknowledged he is unlikely to have the last word in the case, expecting the administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to launch an appeal.

The case could have deep ramifications in the crucial electoral battleground given that Florida has an estimated 774,000 disenfranchised felons who are barred because of financial obligations. Many of those felons are African Americans and presumably Democrats, though it’s unclear how that group of Floridians overall would lean politically in an election and how many would vote.

The judge called the Florida rules a “pay to vote” system that are unconstitutional when applied to felons “who are otherwise eligible to vote but are genuinely unable to pay the required amount.”

A further complication is determining the exact amount in fines and other kinds of legal fees owed by felons seeking the vote — by some estimates it would take elections officials several years for those pending now. Hinkle said it’s unconstitutional to bar any voter whose amount owed could not be “determined with diligence.”

Hinkle ordered the state to require election officials to allow felons to request an advisory opinion on how much they owe — essentially placing the burden on elections officials to seek that information from court systems. If there’s no response within three weeks, then the applicant should not be barred from registering to vote, the ruling said.

Hinkle said the requirement to pay fines and restitution as ordered in a sentence is constitutional for those “who are able to pay” — if the amount can be determined.

The case, Kelvin Jones vs Ron DeSantis, consolidates five lawsuits filed by advocates of disenfranchised felons, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Brennan Center and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

“This is a tremendous victory for voting rights,” Julie Ebenstein, senior staff attorney with ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said in a statement. “The court recognized that conditioning a person’s right to vote on their ability to pay is unconstitutional. This ruling means hundreds of thousands of Floridians will be able to rejoin the electorate and participate in upcoming elections.”

The 2018 ballot measure, known as Amendment 4, does not apply to convicted murderers and rapists, who are permanently barred from voting regardless of financial obligations.

Trump Administration Notifies Congress of Plan to Use $5 Million in U.S. Taxpayer Funds to Send Hundreds of Ventilators to Russia

UNITED STATES CONGRESS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 22, 2020

Contacts:

Aryele Bradford (Oversight and Reform): (202) 226-5181
Tim Mulvey (Foreign Affairs): 202-226-9103
Evan Hollander (Appropriations): 202-740-6844
Hope Derrick/Erica Loewe (Clyburn): 202-226-3210

Trump Administration Notifies Congress of
Plan to Use $5 Million in U.S. Taxpayer Funds to
Send Hundreds of Ventilators to Russia

House Chairs Send Letter Objecting to Gift to Putin
While Ventilators Are Urgently Needed in United States

Washington, D.C. (May 22, 2020)—Today, top House Committee Chairs sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump after the Administration sent a formal notification this week informing Congress that he plans to gift hundreds of ventilators and other supplies to Russia that will cost the American taxpayers $5.6 million—despite urgent needs here in the United States.

The letter was signed by Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot E. Engel, Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Chairman James E. Clyburn, and Oversight and Reform National Security Subcommittee Chairman Stephen F. Lynch.

“We are deeply concerned with recent reports that you are providing critical, life-saving ventilators to Russia when they are urgently needed here in the United States to combat the coronavirus crisis and save American lives,” the Chairs wrote. “The United States has had more coronavirus cases and more deaths as a result of the virus than any nation on Earth. In fact, the United States has had more coronavirus deaths than the next several highest countries combined.”

This week, the Administration submitted a notification to Congress stating that President Trump’s gift to President Putin of “ventilators and related commodities and consumables” will cost the American taxpayers $5.6 million. He is making this commitment despite Russia’s nearly $1.7 trillion gross domestic product, and the Administration is utilizing extraordinary authorities to overcome the myriad of restrictions Congress has placed on providing U.S. funding to Russia.

The United States currently has a maximum of approximately 160,000 ventilators available for use, and according to a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine, “No matter which estimate we use, there are not enough ventilators for patients with Covid-19 in the upcoming months.”

“Instead, it appears you may be providing or selling ventilators to other countries as gifts or favors to serve your own political or personal interests without any meaningful strategic justification, thorough interagency process, or policy rationale for doing so,” the Chairs wrote.

Letter link: https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/2020-05-22.CBM%20Engel%20Lowey%20Clyburn%20Lynch%20to%20Trump%20re%20%20Overseas%20Ventilator%20Shipments.pdf

Best In Game Dunk Ever? Dr. J Julius Erving Dunks On Michael Cooper

Best In Game Dunk Ever? Philadelphia 76ers "Dr. J" Julius Erving Dunks On LA Lakers Michael "Coooop" Cooper

ARCHITECT OF ROCK AND ROLL LITTLE RICHARD HALL OF FAME PERFORMANCE - 1937 to 2020 - RIP

Good Golly Miss Molly and Tutti Fruitti


Long Tall Sally and Tutti Fruitti


Little Richard, Ray Charles, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, BB King, Albert King, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, and the Rock and Roll All-Star Band

RELEASE: Bipartisan Experts Agree That Comprehensive Testing, Tracing, and Targeted Containment Strategy Is Key to Reopening Country

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 13, 2020

Contact: Aryele Bradford: (202) 226-5181

Bipartisan Experts Agree That Comprehensive Testing, Tracing, and Targeted Containment Strategy Is Key to Reopening Country

Washington, D.C. — Today, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, chaired by Rep. James E. Clyburn, held a briefing with a bipartisan group of experts on the requirements for safely reopening our nation during the coronavirus pandemic.

Today’s briefing made clear that a coordinated and comprehensive testing, tracing, and supported isolation plan is needed to reopen the country—and that the Trump Administration needs to do more to lead the way.

At the briefing, bipartisan experts provided recommendations to guide federal and state efforts to safely reopen the country:

• Reopening safely depends on testing, but we have not met goals. Experts agreed that to safely reopen our country, we need to significantly scale up testing—but we are far behind where we should be.

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb informed Members that the country’s ability to reopen will “turn on testing.”

Dr. Ashish Jha of Harvard described testing as “critical” and “the cornerstone of controlling every single disease outbreak” but said we are still not testing enough people.

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Mark McClellan warned that America may not reach testing levels recommended by Harvard until September, commenting that more widescale testing is “a ways off,” and that, “it would be great if we had more testing capacity months ago.”

• We need stronger federal leadership. Briefers stated that while states play a critical role, federal coordination and support is essential to getting the resources necessary to reopen safely.

Dr. Jha stated, “This is why we have a federal government. The federal government can play an effective and important role in coordinating, in obtaining supplies, in getting states the help they need and so that states can focus on the job that they are really good at, which is identifying their own individual needs.”

Dr. Tom Inglesby of Johns Hopkins noted that businesses and the public are looking to the CDC to provide guidance on how to reopen safely.

• Testing must be distributed to vulnerable communities. Expert panelists underscored the importance of a coronavirus response that serves all communities.

In his opening remarks, Chairman Clyburn emphasized the Select Subcommittee’s role in ensuring that the federal government’s response to the coronavirus crisis is “effective, efficient, and equitable.”

• Economic damage was a direct result of the lack of testing. Experts informed Members of the Select Subcommittee that the economic shutdown would not have been necessary if early testing had been available to identify disease outbreaks when they began.
____________________________________________________
Dr. Jha said, “Every expert on the left, right, and center agrees that we had to shut down the economy because the outbreak got too big. The outbreak got too big because we didn’t have a testing infrastructure that allowed us to put our arms around the outbreak. And so testing was the fundamental failure that forced our country to shut down.”

Coronavirus Panel to Hold First Briefing on Requirements to Safely Reopen Economy - Today at 3pm -

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 13, 2020
Contact: Aryele Bradford: (202) 226-5181

*ADVISORY*

Coronavirus Panel to Hold First Briefing on Requirements to Safely Reopen Economy
Member Briefing to Focus on Need for Comprehensive
Testing, Tracing, and Targeted Containment Strategy

Washington, D.C. (May 13, 2020)—On Wednesday, May 13, 2020, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, chaired by Rep. James E. Clyburn, will hold its first briefing with a bipartisan group of key experts on the requirements for safely reopening our nation during the coronavirus pandemic.

The panelists participating in Wednesday’s briefing have put forward plans to guide federal and state efforts to safely reopen the country, including the AEI Plan, the Hopkins Plan, the Harvard Plan, and the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy Plan.

Public health experts agree that the only way to safely reopen before a vaccine or significantly improved treatment becomes widely available is, in the words of a Harvard Safra Center report, “massive scale testing, tracing, and supported isolation.”

Last month, the Trump Administration released a “Blueprint for Testing Plans and Rapid Response Programs,” but the document failed to include numeric testing goals or a nationwide strategy. President Trump continues to claim there are enough tests for everyone who needs one, but governors, public health experts, and first responders disagree.

Congress and the American people need to hear directly from experts to get the ground truth and determine specific steps we need to take to develop a coordinated and comprehensive testing, tracing, and supported isolation plan to reopen the country.

WHAT: Select Subcommittee Member Briefing on Testing, Tracing, and Targeted Containment

WHEN: 3:00 PM on Wednesday, May 13, 2020

WHO: Dr. Scott Gottlieb - Former Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration
Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

Dr. Mark McClellan - Former Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration
Former Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Founding Director, Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, Duke University

Dr. Ashish Jha - Director, Harvard Global Health Institute
Harvard University

Dr. Tom Inglesby
Director, Center for Health Security
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Dr. Georges Benjamin
Executive Director
American Public Health Association

WATCH: Livestream available on YouTube, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis website, the Committee on Oversight and Reform website, on C-SPAN1, and on the C-SPAN website.

Since COVID Outbreak, News/Talk Has Grown Its AQH Share By 24%.

Story by Inside Radio

For a second consecutive month, the news/talk format registered a substantial gain in audience share as Americans continued to tune in for the latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic. The format surged to a 15.0 share in Nielsen’s April PPM survey, up from a 13.3 in March and a 12.1 in February. In the span of two months, the share of listening for news/talk has jumped 24%.

That gave it a more than two-to-one lead over second place AC, which tumbled for a second straight month, from 8.3 in the pre-COVID February survey to 7.7 in March and now a 6.4 in April.

Nielsen’s April survey covered March 26 - April 22. All figures quoted are total week 6+ AQH shares.

The AC format, which relies heavily on at-work listening, has been walloped by fewer Americans listening in office and other traditional work environments due to stay-at-home orders. Radio’s most-listened-to music format has experienced a 23% drop in audience share within two months. That’s allowed country to come within a tenth of a share striking distance of AC.

Country is among the formats that held their ratings ground throughout the pandemic, trending 6.2-6.0-6.3 (Feb.-March-April) for a consistent third place finish.

Classic rock, meanwhile, is the music format with the biggest gains in the two surveys impacted by changing listening behaviors as a result of the coronavirus. After inching ahead 5.2-5.4 in March, classic rock cranked it up to 6.1 in April to rank fourth. That’s up from fifth place in March and sixth in February.

One theory behind classic rock’s ratings strides are that listeners are seeking out familiar music as comfort food during the pandemic. Another notion is that there is less “forced” at-work listening to AC, now that the workplace for many is their home. “The choice of an at-work radio station is often made by one person, or which format is ‘appropriate’ (for the workplace) and the format of choice in most workplaces is AC, or Classic Hits (for the most part),” writes AC consultant Gary Berkowitz on his blog. “But now, things are different. If you’re working from home, YOU get to choose the station. Women have always had a lean towards rock music. Now that they have a choice, these rock and classic rock stations, in many markets, are climbing up the rankers and doing great.”

The format most negatively impacted by the health crisis and its radical impact on consumer lifestyles is pop CHR, which has seen its lowest shares in decades at some of its biggest stations. Within two months, pop CHR has lost one-fourth of its national audience share in PPM markets, declining 5.6-5.1-4.2. Tied for fourth in February, it ranked seventh in April. Pop CHR was already in the midst of a prolonged downturn before the coronavirus changed media behavior. The epidemic hasn’t been kind to hot AC either, which took a sharp descent in April after starting to slide in March.

The decline for these contemporary pop formats goes hand in hand with a decrease in pop music streaming, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, as Americans stream older songs instead of the latest pop releases.

Hampered by a full month with almost no live sports, the sports talk format took a bigger tumble in April after a minor dip in March (4.3-4.1-3.5).

Regional Mexican, on the other hand saw a decent increase since the outbreak, tracking 3.1-3.1-3.5 to tie for eighth place, up from tenth in February.

While there are winners and losers in the latest numbers, many music formats showed remarkably consistent share performances, including country, classic hits, urban AC, Spanish contemporary, alternative and contemporary Christian.

The gains and losses posted in April will likely be looked back on as an aberration since they reflect a major disruption in how Americans consume radio. Nielsen acknowledges as much in an advisory that accompanies its ratings products for the March and April survey periods.

“Audience estimates covering the time of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency can and should be used to understand the nature of that audience during that period only since it may reflect behavior that is unique to the COVID-19 crisis,” Nielsen says. “Given the anomalous nature of audience behavior during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, it is Nielsen's position that future buying and planning decisions for periods that fall outside the COVID-19 crisis should not be made using COVID-19 impacted audience estimates.” – Paul Heine

Leader of Hurricane Katrina Task Force Briefs Oversight Committee on Failure of Administration’s Coronavirus Response General Honoré Warns “We Are Not Winning”

Story by Oversight Committee Democrats Press Office

The War Against the Virus

Washington, D.C. (May 8, 2020)—Today, retired Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré, who was appointed by President George W. Bush to lead a unified taskforce in response to Hurricane Katrina, provided a video briefing to Democratic and Republican Members of the Committee on Oversight and Reform on lessons from Katrina that could improve the Trump Administration’s response to the coronavirus crisis. Chairwoman Maloney issued the following statement after the briefing:

“Today, General Honoré made clear that the Trump Administration has all the tools it needs for a robust response to the coronavirus crisis, but has failed to use them. The Administration failed to prepare after being warned, failed to procure tests and supplies when they were needed, and is failing now to protect Americans as it seeks to reopen the economy regardless of the risks.

“I urge the President to heed General Honoré’s advice—create a clear command structure, make full use of the Defense Production Act to acquire and distribute critical supplies, and develop an actionable plan for nationwide testing so we can safely reopen.

“We have already lost more than 75,000 Americans to this deadly virus—more than any nation on Earth. I hope all of my colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, will join me in urging the Administration to show the leadership necessary to defeat this threat.”

• “We Are Not Winning.”

When asked whether we are winning the war against coronavirus, Lt. Gen. Honoré stated: “I can’t say we’re winning when we have friends and loved ones and fellow citizens dying at a rate of 2,000 a day and that number could double in the next 30 days. We are not winning. We are surviving.” He went on to say, “We have to go on the offense, and the key to any major campaign like this is you have to dominate the battlefield with logistics and with people to execute test, test, test, contain, track, and trace.”

• Administration’s Failure to Learn Lessons from Hurricane Katrina.

Lt. Gen. Honoré stressed the importance of “creating a culture of preparedness” with strong federal leadership. He described how the Trump Administration failed to follow this model and has not used “legacy knowledge” from successful previous efforts. Lt. General Honoré explained that in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA implemented a system to manage assistance requests from states and localities, but the Trump Administration does not appear to be using that system to ensure Americans have what they need to survive.

• Need for a Unified Command Structure.

Lt. Gen. Honoré stressed the need for a national command strategy for testing, tracing, and containing the spread of the coronavirus. He noted that the White House Task Force has “supplanted” the National Security Council—which successfully coordinated past pandemic and disaster responses—and the Trump Administration’s lead officials and agencies have changed repeatedly over time.

• Need for Federal Leadership to Combat Testing and Supply Shortages.

Lt. Gen. Honoré called on the Administration to take charge of the procurement and distribution of critical supplies to alleviate the strain on state and local governments and successfully reopen the country. He emphasized the need to utilize the Department of Defense’s global capacity to determine requirements, acquire and transport supplies, and fully implement the Defense Production Act. Lt. Gen. Honoré rejected the Administration’s view that the federal government should be a “last resort” for life-saving supplies. He also expressed concerns with Project Airbridge, calling it a “technique I have never heard of used before” and warning that it led to harmful competition for scarce supplies among states, the federal government, and private industry.

• Need to Prepare for Upcoming Disasters.

Lt. Gen. Honoré told the Committee that FEMA is not equipped for long-term response to both the coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters, including the upcoming hurricane season that experts predict will be severe. Lt. Gen. Honoré warned that without strong federal leadership, Americans could face food shortages, and FEMA could face problems with sourcing and distributing supplies, as well as the evacuation, sheltering, and movement of displaced people.

iHeartMedia Prepares For ‘Flood Of Demand’ As States Slowly Reopen

Story by Inside Radio

One of the things radio is best known for is driving foot traffic to a retailer’s grand opening. With more than half of the states in various phases of loosening stay-at-home restrictions, millions of businesses large and small will, at some point, need to get the word out about their grand reopening. That represents a major opportunity for radio, iHeartMedia Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman said Thursday.

“In essence, almost every business locally is going to have to have a grand reopening. Logic would tell you that we would benefit from that,” Pittman told analysts during the company’s first quarter 2020 results call. “Every business is going to have to build back its traffic and reintroduce itself to its consumers. And we’re very good at that.”

As the country enters a new phase of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, iHeart managers are scrutinizing consumer trends in states that have begun to reopen. While ad sales haven’t come roaring back, sales activity, such as contacts with a client, ad proposals, etc., have “gone up dramatically in the markets that are opening up,” Pittman said. But it’s too soon to know how that translates into sales, or if sales volume will return to pre-COVID levels. Still, Pittman predicted “a flood of demand” in individual states as they reopen. “We’re going to have to be ready for it and we’re building out our capabilities and our sales plans based on that,” he said.

The first quarter got off to a strong start for iHeart, with solid year-over-year revenue growth in January and February before hitting a coronavirus-induced wall in March. Total Q1 revenues declined 1.9% year-over-year to $780.6 million, mainly from a 5.2% decrease in broadcast radio ad spend. But broadcast ads tied to the company’s SmartAudio programmatic platform declined by only half that much. And digital revenue grew 22.2%, propelled by big growth in podcasting.

One Pandemic, Two Different Stories

Looking past first quarter, two distinctly different stories are emerging, Pittman explained. One is all about the consumer and the other pertains to advertising.

As with previous disasters, the COVID crisis underscored the companionship role radio plays. “In real times of need, like this one, they need us more than ever,” Pittman said. With shelter-in-place orders, listening shifted to at-home and digital devices took off. “Listening on home devices exploded,” he said, citing internal data that showed web listening up 43%, smart TVs up 35%, gaming consoles up 28% and SIRI up 18%.

Moving swiftly to respond to radically altered lifestyles, programmers aired hourly COVID 19 reports, pumped out daily newsletters and podcasts, saluted healthcare workers, staged Wednesday Night Living Room Concerts, First Responder Fridays and virtual proms, and arranged for John Legend, Hillary Clinton, Eli Manning and about two dozen others big names to deliver commencement addresses to graduating college seniors via podcasts and on the air.

In normal times the company would monetize all of that. “We fundamentally believe and have always seen that advertising revenue follows consumers – just not at this moment of dislocation,” Pittman acknowledged. Most of iHeart’s revenue streams saw what he called a “major drop” as businesses temporarily shut down and cut back on ad spending.

Cost Reductions To Mitigate Revenue Loss

While programmers were responding to vastly different consumer lifestyles, President, COO and CFO Rich Bressler was putting major cost reductions in place to mitigate the revenue loss and preserve cash. In addition to cost savings from fewer sales commissions, the company made moves to lower fixed costs, starting in February, before world health officials declared a global pandemic. Those “modernization” efforts will save the company $50 million this year. Another $200 million in savings will come from pay cuts, furloughs, suspending new employee hiring and T&E expenses, pausing its 401(k) match and a major reduction in what the company pays consultants and other discretionary expenses. Bressler and his team cut capital expenditures by $80 million and will save $100 million in cash tax savings from the CARES Act. Combined with cash on hand, the moves will allow iHeart to “weather the storm, even under conservative recovery scenarios,” Pittman said.

In a candid moment on the one hour-plus earnings call, Pittman told investors, “We hate to be in this environment, with this kind of impact on our revenue.” But the company “recognized it quickly,” responded appropriately and is now focused on recovery and capturing ad demand as it returns. Strategic decisions made in past years, like going all in on streaming, podcasting and data and analytics, have put it “in a unique position to benefit from the upturn, no matter when it comes or at what speed it arrives,” Pittman said.

While Bressler said “revenue will continue to be challenged,” Pittman shared some pacing data, with the caveat that it’s not a reliable predictor. May bookings were up slightly over April and June looks better than May. Third quarter appears “a good bit better” than second quarter, Pittman said, before adding “We’re in uncharted waters.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the "Big O" Oscar Robertson interviews

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Five Republican Governors: "Our States Stayed Open in the Covid-19 Pandemic. Here’s Why Our Approach Worked."

Five Republican Governors: Our States Stayed Open in the Covid-19 Pandemic. Here’s Why Our Approach Worked.

“The diversity of the 50 states is what makes our nation’s economy great, and each state’s response to the novel coronavirus is as diverse as the pandemic’s impact on each of us,” Governors Mark Gordon (R-WY), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Asa Hutchinson (R-AR), Kim Reynolds (R-IA), and Mike Parson (R-MO) write in The Washington Post.

“Restarting our economy is not a race to be won but a cooperative effort. Our approach has created a model for success that can be applied throughout the country.”

First Lady Melania Trump has donated 150 box lunches to patients and staff at Children’s Inn, part of the National Institutes of Health in Maryland. Last week, she also sent care packages to kids and staff at hospitals in 10 states and Washington, D.C.—“a small token of my appreciation,” she says. Read more from Aris Folley in The Hill - https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/496218-melania-trump-sends-150-boxed-lunches-to-childrens-research-hospital

“President Donald Trump signed a proclamation Tuesday in Arizona that aims to bring awareness to ongoing violence in Native American communities. The proclamation declared Tuesday as Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives Awareness Day . . . Trump visited Arizona on Tuesday to tour Phoenix’s Honeywell facility,” which has been repurposed to make N95 masks, KTAR News reports - https://ktar.com/story/3129221/trump-signs-proclamation-in-arizona-against-native-american-violence/

Our country needs an experienced, principled leader to handle our most sensitive information during this tumultuous time across the world. “It is for all these reasons that John Ratcliffe is the right choice for director of national intelligence—and for America,” Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC) writes in The Hill - https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/496090-john-ratcliffe-is-the-right-choice-for-director-of-national?rnd=1588653221

OP-ED SUBMISSION: Stop Excluding People of Color in Environmental Policies By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.

Commentary by the National Newspaper Publishers Association CEO Benjamin Chavis

Protecting the environment should be about protecting people, regardless of the color of their skin, their ethnicity or race, where they live or how much money they make. The fight to save our planet should be about ensuring a long and successful sustainable future - for everyone.

The deadly destruction wrought by the coronavirus pandemic has laid bare the harsh inequities in American society, disproportionately ravaging Black America and other communities of color, as well as individuals who were on the social margins long before the crisis.

The inequities have surfaced in obvious ways, including early data released by states showing that the virus is killing African Americans at disproportionately high rates, a disturbing trend that illustrates the substandard availability of health care in Black America.
The inequities have also surfaced in subtle ways, such as policy decisions that fail to reflect the needs and day-to-day realities of low-income communities and communities of color. The irony is that many of these policies are well-meaning. But in some cases, they also have had troubling unintended consequences.

Consider the area of environmental policy. Protecting the environment should be about protecting people, regardless of the color of their skin, ethnicity or race, or where they live or how much money they make. The fight to save our planet should be about ensuring a long and successful sustainable future - for everyone.

Yet, there are many in the mainstream environmental movement who continuously overlook the needs and realities faced by some of our most underserved and vulnerable communities. That includes the mainstream environmental advocacy community's push to enforce plastic bags bans in favor of reusables, despite the fact that cardboard paper and other reusables pose a clear public health risk - especially for workers on the front lines of the pandemic response.

Why, for example, is it smart public policy to insist that grocery workers be exposed to reusable bags, when research shows these bags can be repositories of the COVID-19 virus? The majority of these essential workers are low-income people of color who are disproportionately bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis, dying from the deadly disease at twice the rate of white people.

Additionally, in New York, it is well-documented that a statewide plastic bag ban also disproportionately hurts Black and Latino-owned businesses and shoppers. Though there is an exemption in this ban for recipients of benefits like WIC and food stamps from paying the five-cent tax on paper bags, working-class people of color and low-income New Yorkers still must pay.

Some stores have been charging for both plastic and paper, and in some cases, more than five cents a bag. Five cents might not seem like much. But five cents (or more) per bag adds up, especially when one is living paycheck-to-paycheck, or, as is more likely at this moment, not working at all due to the financial toll of the COVID-19 crisis.

Some environmentalists have argued that opponents of the bag ban are trying to capitalize on the COVID-19 crisis by recommending a suspension of any bag regulations. Again, it appears that some mainstream environmentalists only use research data to support policies that reflect their privileged vantage point without respect to the impact of those policies on the underprivileged.

I coined the term environmental racism in 1982 while involved in the Warren County, NC protests against the digging of a PCB landfill in the heart of a poor Black agricultural community. At that time there were some who thought that environmental issues were should not be considered as civil rights or as racial justice issues. There was in the past, and it continues in the current public discourse, a kind of arrogance by the privileged who think they know what is best for the underprivileged.

Today as the environmental justice movement has grown into a global campaign for change led by grassroots activists and leaders from people of color communities throughout the world, we all now know much more about the intersection between the issues of racial justice and environmental justice.

I recall vividly back in the late 1980's when I co-authored and published the landmark study for the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice: Toxic Waste and Race in the United States, the established environmental movement was unnerved that people of color would dare to do empirical research and define our own reality with respect to exposures to environmental hazards. Our national study proved that there was a deliberate link between race and the placement of toxic waste facilities in America.

In adherence to a blind devotion to a privileged ideology, some who call themselves environmentalists often neglect to take into consideration the day-to-day concerns of millions of low-income and Americans of color living in urban centers that are also communities that house hazardous sanitation sites, incinerators, rail yards, power plants and other environmental threats.

Some mainstream environmental groups consistently insist on pushing for policies that make life harder for people of color and poor communities, arguing that the hardship - if they recognize it at all - is a necessary price to pay in order to achieve their overall goals that those of privilege have exclusively envisioned as the standard for all others to obey.
As the pandemic continues, we need to let go of high-minded ideological arguments and do everything possible to protect workers on the front lines - including grocery clerks and those who make deliveries. Some states have temporarily lifted their bans or eradicated them altogether. A number of grocery stores are bringing back plastic bags and telling customers not to bring their own reusable bags.

Due to the crisis, New York has twice extended non-enforcement of its plastic bag ban in the face of a lawsuit that challenges its constitutionality. This is not enough. The state should give essential workers and shoppers alike a sense of protection during the pandemic and bag the plastic ban altogether.

More often than not, these life-changing decisions are being made without the consultation or input from the affected communities of color. Close to 40 years later we still remain on the outside of these conversations, continuously overlooked by many in the mainstream environmental movement as well as in local and state governments.

There is an obvious divide between the members of the mainstream environmentalism movement and the environmental justice community, primarily made up of urban Black and brown people. Until both parties can come together and pay the necessary attention to the pervasive environmental concerns that our communities endure on a daily basis the rift will only deepen, if not completely fracture. Exclusion of people of color will not solve the nation's or the world's environmental challenges.
___________________________________________________________
Dr. Benjamin Chavis is President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association.

Stories of Hope by The Obama Foundation

Even in this uncertain time, we can still find reasons for hope. We’ve gathered stories of people from every corner of the globe carrying out selfless acts in this time of need. Think of it as the virtual hug you (maybe) didn't know you needed. Our team will continue to add to this steady stream of global hope, but we'd like your help. Tell us about the stories—big and small—that are lifting your spirits here: https://obamacenter.typeform.com/to/XH7aQZ?_ga=2.96080604.1779609197.1588603625-1043220531.1588603625

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Urban One Delays Annual Report, Says Stock In Danger Of Nasdaq Delisting.

Story by Inside Radio

Urban One says it’s delaying the publication of its annual report because of the COVID-19 crisis and that its stock may be delisted if the African-American-focused media company is unable to maintain its current share price.

In a 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, the Silver Spring, MD-based broadcaster says it will be unable to file its annual report in the legally required timeframe of March 1 to July 1. Urban One says it will take advantage of the SEC’s regulatory relief guidance that allows companies affected by the coronavirus to take a 45-day extension to file certain disclosures.



On the Form 10-K, the company provides a comprehensive overview of its business and financial condition, including audited financial statements. The annual report on the Form 10-K is distinct from the annual report companies send to shareholders.

Urban One says the state of Maryland’s declaration to enforce “social distancing” forced it to transition its business operations to a remote working model.

“As a result of these measures, the routine efforts of the company’s accounting and finance personnel to complete the audit and prepare the company’s financial statements and disclosures have taken a greater amount of time and the company was unable to finalize and file its Annual Report on a timely basis to meet its pre-Order filing deadline of March 30, 2020.”

The company added that the terms of its debt may restrict future operations and “could limit our ability to respond to market conditions or meet extraordinary capital needs.”

Urban One also said that if it fails to meet certain criteria it may be unable to maintain its stock listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

The market requires that a listing trade above $1 per share. Urban One’s stock price closed at $1.06 twice during the past month. In response to the pandemic, Nasdaq recently offered temporary relief from the continued listing bid price and market value of publicly held shares through June 30, 2020.