Mitt Romney joins Black Lives Matter protest in DC
U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney became the first known Republican senator to join in recent protests against police mistreatment of minorities. Romney marched in Washington with a Christian group on Sunday.
He posted a tweet showing him wearing a mask as he walked with Black Lives Matter protesters in Washington. Above the photo he wrote “Black Lives Matter.”
Romney told NBC News that he needed to be there. “We need a voice against racism, we need many voices against racism and against brutality,” he said. “We need to stand up and say, ‘Black lives matter.’”
Democrats look to counter GOP vote-by-mail fraud claims
Democrats are mounting a new effort to push back against a well-funded Republican campaign that seeks to undermine public confidence in mail-in voting, which President Donald Trump has said, without offering proof, will lead to election fraud.
Fair Fight, an organization led by former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, has joined forces with Priorities USA, the largest Democratic outside group, and American Bridge, the party’s opposition research clearinghouse, to form a new effort called Voter Suppression Watch.
The aim is to not only counter Republicans in the courts but also in public relations while playing offense by providing opposition research that often forms the grist of critical news stories.
Cristobal becomes depression, moving north toward Canada
Tropical Storm Cristobal weakened into a depression early June 8 after inundating coastal Louisiana and ginning up dangerous weather along most of the U.S. Gulf Coast, sending waves crashing over Mississippi beaches, swamping parts of an Alabama island town and spawning a tornado in Florida.
Heavy rainfall and a storm surge continued posing a threat across a wide area of the coast after Cristobal made landfall in the afternoon, packing 50-mph (85-kph) winds between the mouth of the Mississippi River and the since-evacuated barrier island resort community of Grand Isle.
Forecasters said up to 12 inches of rain could fall in some areas. The weather service warned that the rain would contribute to rivers flooding on the central Gulf Coast and up into the Mississippi Valley, posing a new test of the beleaguered pumping system designed to drain floodwaters from the streets of New Orleans.
Colin Kaepernick has more support now, still long way to go
When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to take a stand against police brutality and racial injustice in 2016, he was mostly alone. Politicians, team owners and fellow players criticized him, fans burned his jersey, and he was booed even at home. Four years later, his protest is widely viewed as prescient.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apologized on June 5 to players for not listening to them earlier and encouraged them to protest peacefully.
New Orleans Saints star quarterback Drew Brees also issued a public apology on June 4 after he was excoriated by teammates, other athletes and fans for saying he “will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States.”
