usatoday--2020-07-30--Senate cancels hearing for Anthony Tata, Trump's Pentagon pick who called Obama a terrorist

WASHINGTON – The Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday abruptly canceled the confirmation hearing for retired Brig .
Gen. Anthony Tata , a controversial pick to be the No .
3 official at the Pentagon .
The move raises questions on whether Tony Tata 's comments on former President Barack Obama and other personal issues have scuttled his chances to become the undersecretary for policy at the Pentagon .
Sen. Jim Inhofe , R-Okla. , who chairs the Armed Services Committee , announced the cancellation of the hearing less than half an hour before it was schedule to begin .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t know enough about Anthony Tata to consider him for a very significant position at this time , ” Inhofe said in a statement .
“ We didn ’ t get the required documentation in time ; some documents , which we normally get before a hearing , didn ’ t arrive until yesterday .
As I told the president last night , we ’ re simply out of time with the August recess coming , so it wouldn ’ t serve any useful purpose to have a hearing at this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has nominated Tata for the policy post .
Tata , a novelist ( as A.J .
Tata ) and Fox News guest , once called former President Barack Obama a “ terrorist leader.
” Tata ’ s military career ended after investigators determined he 'd had extramarital affairs , a crime in the military justice system .
The Pentagon referred questions to the White House about whether Trump has pulled Tata ’ s nomination for consideration .
Sen. Jack Reed , the top Democrat on the committee , said members of both parties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nominee . ''
“ Chairman Inhofe did the right thing here , and it ’ s clear this nomination isn ’ t going anywhere without a full , fair , open hearing , ” Reed said .
In February , Defense Secretary Mark Esper forced John Rood from the No .
3 job by seeking his resignation .
Rood had been involved in the controversial $ 250 million military aid deal to Ukraine that resulted in President Trump 's impeachment by the House .
In his resignation letter , Rood noted that Esper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's behalf .
Rood had certified that Ukraine had met anti-corruption requirements , deeming it eligible to receive the assistance .
That certification came before Trump ’ s July 25 phone call with Ukraine 's president , Volodymyr Zelensky , during which he sought an investigation into Joe Biden , his political rival .

Senate cancels hearing for Anthony Tata, Trump's Pentagon pick who called Obama a terrorist
WASHINGTON – The Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday abruptly canceled the confirmation hearing for retired Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, a controversial pick to be the No. 3 official at the Pentagon.
The move raises questions on whether Tony Tata's comments on former President Barack Obama and other personal issues have scuttled his chances to become the undersecretary for policy at the Pentagon.
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., who chairs the Armed Services Committee, announced the cancellation of the hearing less than half an hour before it was schedule to begin.
"There are many Democrats and Republicans who didn’t know enough about Anthony Tata to consider him for a very significant position at this time,” Inhofe said in a statement. “We didn’t get the required documentation in time; some documents, which we normally get before a hearing, didn’t arrive until yesterday. As I told the president last night, we’re simply out of time with the August recess coming, so it wouldn’t serve any useful purpose to have a hearing at this point, and he agreed.”
Trump has nominated Tata for the policy post. Tata, a novelist (as A.J. Tata) and Fox News guest, once called former President Barack Obama a “terrorist leader.” Tata’s military career ended after investigators determined he'd had extramarital affairs, a crime in the military justice system.
The Pentagon referred questions to the White House about whether Trump has pulled Tata’s nomination for consideration.
Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the committee, said members of both parties had raised "serious questions about this nominee."
“Chairman Inhofe did the right thing here, and it’s clear this nomination isn’t going anywhere without a full, fair, open hearing,” Reed said.
In February, Defense Secretary Mark Esper forced John Rood from the No. 3 job by seeking his resignation. Rood had been involved in the controversial $250 million military aid deal to Ukraine that resulted in President Trump's impeachment by the House. In his resignation letter, Rood noted that Esper had asked for his resignation on Trump's behalf.
Rood had certified that Ukraine had met anti-corruption requirements, deeming it eligible to receive the assistance. That certification came before Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, during which he sought an investigation into Joe Biden, his political rival.


usatoday--2020-07-30--Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain passes away

Former presidential candidate Herman Cain dies after getting COVID-19 Correction : This video initially misstated Herman Cain 's age .
@ @ @ @ @ politician and business executive had contracted COVID-19 .

Former presidential candidate Herman Cain dies after getting COVID-19
Correction: This video initially misstated Herman Cain's age. He was 74. The politician and business executive had contracted COVID-19.
USA TODAY, Wochit


usatoday--2020-07-31--As calls to remove Confederate monuments grew louder, states passed new laws to protect them

Robert Harris ’ parents were sharecroppers who attended civil rights meetings and registered to vote .
For that , their landlord plowed up their yard .
“ They wasn ’ t told they had to leave , ” Harris said .
“ The land they were raised on , they would just drive the tractors up by the house , as in the yard space .
That was letting them know they had to go.
” It was one in a long chain of incidents of racial oppression in Lowndes County , 25 miles west of Montgomery , Alabama .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ lived in slavery in 1860 .
Whites lynched at least 16 people there between 1877 and 1950 .
A column dedicated to Confederate veterans outside the Lowndes County Courthouse in Hayneville , Alabama – where Harris has served on the county commission for 22 years – was a reminder of that oppression .
It served as a reminder of “ how we were treated , ” Harris said .
There had been talk in the past about removing the monument .
But the killing of George Floyd – and the national discussions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ switched on a light bulb , ” Harris said of Lowndes County , which is 72 % black .
More : Confederate monuments remain in crosshairs amid calls for racial equality “ The thought has always been there , ” he said .
“ The light just got brighter on it , so to speak.
” On June 29 , the five-member county commission unanimously voted to remove the monument , erected sometime before 1940 .
Dickson Farrior , a commissioner who is white , put the motion forward .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are increasingly trying to make even as state legislatures have simultaneously worked to forbid them from doing so .
Like Lowndes , as the desire for Confederate monument removal continues to gain traction , cities and counties across the region face a problem : whether the state government will punish them over the removal .
Seven former Confederate states have passed laws limiting or preventing local governments from removing monuments – all within the past 20 years .
In 2017 , the Alabama Legislature , whose membership is 76 % white , approved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Act .
The law makes it legally impossible to remove monuments 40 years old or older .
A government that does so faces a one-time fine of $ 25,000 .
A bill that would have increased the penalty to $ 10,000 for every day of violation did not advance in the regular session of the legislature this spring .
A message seeking comment from the Alabama attorney general 's office about the Lowndes County Commission 's decision was not returned .
Harris said commissioners had some conversations about fundraising if the state tries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` There haven ’ t been any in-depth discussions about that , '' he said .
`` But I know there may be a possibility that the fine will be raised by outside sources . ''
In Tennessee , the General Assembly in 2013 passed the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act , amending it in 2016 and 2018 — in the midst of Memphis ’ fight to remove multiple Confederate statues in city parks — to make it even more difficult for local entities to take down monuments .
After years of attempting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for removal and repeatedly being blocked , the city of Memphis turned to a creative solution : selling the parks to a nonprofit that would not be subject to the state law governing public monuments .
Statues of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and Confederate President Jefferson Davis came down hours after the sale in December 2017. Who is Nathan Bedford Forrest : Why the Confederate general remains so controversial ?
“ The whole momentum of the country now is to not honor Confederate soldiers , and these laws really stand in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local parks and statues , ” said Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland , who worked for months with a small group of city officials and attorneys to quietly orchestrate the removal before the state or private groups could block their new plan .
• None Removing Confederate statues 'only the beginning ' for Memphis Greenspace • None Forrest descendants drop suit against Memphis , Confederate general 's body could soon be moved As a result , the legislature once again tightened its monument protection law to prevent another city from transferring statue ownership .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ initially been budgeted for Memphis ’ bicentennial celebration .
All of the obstacles were worth it , Strickland said , to remove monuments that were not reflective of Memphis , a city that is roughly 65 % black .
“ I think in the end , most all of these will come down , ” Strickland said of similar statues across the South .
“ It ’ s the right thing to do , and I think it ’ s inevitable.
” The pressure to pull down the monuments is growing .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Montgomery , Alabama , said in a report in July that governments removed or relocated 29 Confederate monuments between Floyd ’ s death on May 25 and July 7 .
More than 730 Confederate monuments remain , according to the organization ’ s count .
Birmingham , which did not exist during the Civil War , agreed to pay the state of Alabama $ 25,000 in June to allow the removal of a monument to Confederate soldiers and sailors in a city park .
“ Most have not been toppled down by protesters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ professor at the University of Alabama who studies the Civil War , Reconstruction and 19th-century history .
“ The majority that are coming down are the ones in front of courthouses.
” Most Confederate monuments erected before 1890 tended to be memorials to dead soldiers , erected in cemeteries .
But as the Jim Crow South emerged and white Southerners stripped Black citizens of the right to vote , the memorials began moving into public spaces .
White women ’ s organizations , particularly the United Daughters of the Confederacy , spearheaded the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The UDC might have fundraised to design and purchase and then put in place the monuments , but it ’ s subsequent governments who continued to uphold and maintain them , ” Green said .
“ While they look like a private organization , they ’ re going hand in hand with the emergence of a white supremacist racial government structure.
” The Black press and African American groups fought the rise of the monuments , though there weren ’ t the mass protests in the streets seen as part of today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kevin Levin , a historian and author of multiple books on the Civil War and the legacy of the Confederacy , said the monuments were “ about solidifying white rule , ” and noted that due to disenfranchisement , Black citizens wielded little power to take part in discussions about what should be placed in a public square .
“ These monuments were about making sure the younger generation that didn ’ t experience the war , didn ’ t experience Reconstruction in the 1870s , that they never forget what their parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ That the cause of white supremacy was their cause moving forward into the 20th century.
” Learotha Williams , a historian in Nashville and professor at Tennessee State University , has traveled the state studying historic markers .
“ When it comes to public memory , I ’ m sure that around the time when these statues went up , there were people walking around who remembered the buying and selling of human beings in that space , ” Williams said .
He noted a nameless Confederate soldier monument erected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just south of Nashville .
He stands in the same square where they had lynched a man a few years before they put it up .
“ He stands in the same square where they had lynched a man a few years before they put it up , ” Williams said .
Monument erection slowed down after the 1920s , due in part to saturation , but rose again during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s .
Efforts to remove symbols of the Confederacy go back decades .
Black legislators @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Confederate flag from the state Capitol , placed there in 1961 , before finally succeeding in 1993 .
The efforts accelerated after a white supremacist killed nine Black worshippers at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston , South Carolina , in 2015 , and after a white supremacist killed a protester and wounded 28 others in Charlottesville , Virginia , in 2017 .
All the state laws protecting Confederate monuments in the former Confederacy are 20 years old or younger .
Alabama , Georgia , North Carolina and Tennessee have either @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the past five years .
Paul Gramling Jr. , commander in chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans , said the monuments for him “ represent those men who never came home ” and he defended existing restrictions on removal .
“ I discount anything when they say they want to put it in a museum or a cemetery , ” he said .
“ I discount that .
If you compromise and do that , they ’ re going to be coming at you later to move it from that spot.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Southern Poverty Law Center , said the organization opposes public celebrations of the Confederacy , not cemetery monuments .
The laws protecting public Confederate monuments , she said , reflect state governments imposing their will on smaller communities , many with predominantly Black populations .
“ Birmingham is a perfect example , ” she said .
“ You have a majority African American population , an African American mayor , they all agree they want it gone .
And the state would prevent them from doing that.
” While a years-long vocal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city ’ s statues , an hour to the east in Bolivar sits one of the first Confederate monuments erected in the South .
A monument to fallen Confederate soldiers , the obelisk installed in the late 1860s and dedicated in 1873 sits on the south lawn of the Hardeman County Courthouse and has largely gone unnoticed .
There have been no Black Lives Matter protests in Bolivar , no large public cries in recent years for the monument to come down .
But as a movement to confront symbols of racism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the obelisk are starting .
“ If the idea of this had not come up as a nationwide issue , probably most people would have been like me , just never paid it any attention , ” said Tennessee state Rep. Johnny Shaw , 78 , a Democrat from Bolivar .
Similarly to Harris in Lowndes County , Alabama , Shaw has lived in Hardeman County since his family was forced off the land they sharecropped elsewhere in west Tennessee in the late 1950s after his father registered to vote .
Shaw hopes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s removal , but he knows it will face resistance .
He said he ’ ll work to see that happen but is not willing to see rioting or vandalism occur in the process .
And more importantly , Shaw said , he knows removal of a monument won ’ t eliminate racism .
“ I think at the end of the day , the people who know right and wrong are going to have to understand there are some things we ’ re just going to have to live with until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said Shaw , who in 2000 became the first Black lawmaker to represent his district since Reconstruction .
Bolivar Mayor Julian McTizic , who in 2017 became the city ’ s youngest mayor at age 30 and the first African American to hold the office , does not have a fire under his feet to call for removal .
Since he took office amid a national debate on monuments , he has not had a resident approach him about the monument , McTizic said .
“ Nobody wants a race war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he said .
“ No one knows how to deal with all of it.
” Like Shaw , Alabama House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels , D-Huntsville , also said that while he wanted the monuments to come down , they ’ re primarily a “ cosmetic issue.
” In addition to removal , there must be conversations about systemic racism in education funding , health care , poverty and many other areas .
Shining a light on inequality : Pamela Rush exposed the injustice of poverty in rural Alabama .
Ultimately it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ ve got to dig deep in those things , ” he said .
“ This pandemic has exposed our lack of health care infrastructure .
… We ’ ve got to look at obvious disparities in poor communities and especially communities of color in general.
” More than 25 % of the county population lives in poverty , and poor sewage and water infrastructure has led to a rise in tropical diseases there in recent years .
The COVID-19 outbreak and economic fallout have hit the county hard : The unemployment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in April before falling back to a still-catastrophically high 16.9 % in June , compared with 5.7 % a year before .
The county struggles to attract industry , Harris said , and has a small tax base that makes investments in economic development difficult .
The commissioner accuses the legislature of “ setting up winners and losers ” that contribute to Lowndes County ’ s struggles .
There are other reminders of the county 's past on the lawn outside the courthouse .
A monument to fallen law enforcement officers sits on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brick column dedicated to Jonathan Myrick Daniels , a white seminarian and civil rights activist killed shortly after his release from jail in 1965 .
Taking down the Confederate monument , Harris said , was “ a step in the right direction , ” if only for taking down a reminder of the roots of the troubles that Lowndes still grapples with .
We ’ re still behind on everything , and we have to work twice as hard as others in order to get where we need to be .
But the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equality that we ’ ve worked so hard to have has not yet come to pass , ” Harris said .
“ We ’ re still behind on everything , and we have to work twice as hard as others in order to get where we need to be .
When we started , we were already behind the eight ball.
” Moving forward , cities will have to determine if they ’ re prepared to sink resources into cleaning vandalism , staging law enforcement to protect monuments or installing cameras nearby .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ pressure right now on local communities , ” said Levin , the Civil War historian .
“ If there are loopholes to be had , they ’ re going to find them if they want to remove their statues .
That pressure and their intensity is going to determine how it evolves.
” Southern state governments – which in recent years have continued to resist the removal of monuments – have begun to show some degree of progress .
Soon after the Mississippi Legislature – facing pressure from the NCAA and Southeastern Conference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state – voted in June to establish a new state flag that did not feature the Confederate battle flag , a key commission in Tennessee cast a vote in favor of removing a bust of Forrest from the state Capitol .
• None Family of Sen. Doug Henry , responsible for Forrest bust : Dad would 'concede posthumously ' to removal The same commission , composed of state officials , legislative appointees and private citizens appointed by the governor , had voted against doing so in 2017 .
The fate of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a two-thirds vote of the Tennessee Historical Commission , as part of the state ’ s Heritage Protection Act .
Confederate monuments are being taken down or defaced by protesters all around the world Historical Confederate monuments are being taken down and defaced from protests over the death of George Floyd .
It was behind-the-scenes maneuvering of Republican Gov .
Bill Lee – making strategic appointments to the commission and working to whip votes – that resulted in a different outcome this time .
A bipartisan will to remove other monuments will likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ name a park after someone or put up a statue of them , it is to honor that person , ” Strickland said .
“ And you ’ re telling all your citizens that this is somebody that we need to honor .
“ We all came together to do it .
We really came together – white , Black , Democrat , Republican , saying it ’ s a new day in Memphis.
” Brian Lyman reports for the Montgomery Advertiser .
Natalie Allison writes for The Tennessean in Nashville .

Brian Lyman and Natalie Allison, USA TODAY Network

Robert Harris’ parents were sharecroppers who attended civil rights meetings and registered to vote. For that, their landlord plowed up their yard.
“They wasn’t told they had to leave,” Harris said. “The land they were raised on, they would just drive the tractors up by the house, as in the yard space. That was letting them know they had to go.”
It was one in a long chain of incidents of racial oppression in Lowndes County, 25 miles west of Montgomery, Alabama. More than two-thirds of Lowndes' population lived in slavery in 1860. Whites lynched at least 16 people there between 1877 and 1950.
An era of terror: Montgomery family remembers father's lynching, legacy
Lowndes County Commissioner Robert Harris stands near the spot where a Confederate monument once stood in front of the county courthouse in Hayneville, Ala., on July 17, 2020. Mickey Welsh / Advertiser
A column dedicated to Confederate veterans outside the Lowndes County Courthouse in Hayneville, Alabama – where Harris has served on the county commission for 22 years – was a reminder of that oppression.
It served as a reminder of “how we were treated,” Harris said.
There had been talk in the past about removing the monument.
But the killing of George Floyd – and the national discussions of systemic racism that it sparked – “switched on a light bulb,” Harris said of Lowndes County, which is 72% black.
More: Confederate monuments remain in crosshairs amid calls for racial equality
“The thought has always been there,” he said. “The light just got brighter on it, so to speak.”
On June 29, the five-member county commission unanimously voted to remove the monument, erected sometime before 1940. Dickson Farrior, a commissioner who is white, put the motion forward.
The monument was removed July 1.
It’s a decision local governments throughout the South are increasingly trying to make even as state legislatures have simultaneously worked to forbid them from doing so.
Related: Lowndes County Commission votes unanimously to remove Confederate monument in Hayneville
Lowndes County Commissioner Robert Harris stands near the spot where a Confederate monument once stood in Hayneville, Ala., on July 17, 2020. In June, the county commission unanimously voted to remove the monument, erected sometime before 1940. Mickey Welsh / Advertiser
State laws prove a hurdle for monument removal
Like Lowndes, as the desire for Confederate monument removal continues to gain traction, cities and counties across the region face a problem: whether the state government will punish them over the removal.
Seven former Confederate states have passed laws limiting or preventing local governments from removing monuments – all within the past 20 years.
In 2017, the Alabama Legislature, whose membership is 76% white, approved a law known as the Memorial Preservation Act. The law makes it legally impossible to remove monuments 40 years old or older. A government that does so faces a one-time fine of $25,000.
A bill that would have increased the penalty to $10,000 for every day of violation did not advance in the regular session of the Legislature this spring.
A message seeking comment from the Alabama attorney general's office about the Lowndes County Commission's decision was not returned. Harris said commissioners had some conversations about fundraising if the state tries to punish the county over the removal.
"There haven’t been any in-depth discussions about that," he said. "But I know there may be a possibility that the fine will be raised by outside sources."
In Tennessee, the General Assembly in 2013 passed the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act, amending it in 2016 and 2018 – in the midst of Memphis’ fight to remove multiple Confederate statues in city parks – to make it even more difficult for local entities to take down monuments.
After years of attempting to go through Tennessee’s system for removal and repeatedly being blocked, the city of Memphis turned to a creative solution: selling the parks to a nonprofit that would not be subject to the state law governing public monuments. Statues of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and Confederate President Jefferson Davis came down hours after the sale in December 2017.
Who is Nathan Bedford Forrest: Why the Confederate general remains so controversial?
“The whole momentum of the country now is to not honor Confederate soldiers, and these laws really stand in the way of local people making decisions about local parks and statues,” said Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, who worked for months with a small group of city officials and attorneys to quietly orchestrate the removal before the state or private groups could block their new plan.
Spotlight on Memphis:
As a result, the Legislature once again tightened its monument protection law to prevent another city from transferring statue ownership. It also withheld $250,000 that had initially been budgeted for Memphis’ bicentennial celebration.
All of the obstacles were worth it, Strickland said, to remove monuments that were not reflective of Memphis, a city that is roughly 65% black.
“I think in the end, most all of these will come down,” Strickland said of similar statues across the South. “It’s the right thing to do, and I think it’s inevitable.”
The pressure to pull down the monuments is growing. The Southern Poverty Law Center, based in Montgomery, Alabama, said in a report in July that governments removed or relocated 29 Confederate monuments between Floyd’s death on May 25 and July 7. More than 730 Confederate monuments remain, according to the organization’s count.
Birmingham, which did not exist during the Civil War, agreed to pay the state of Alabama $25,000 in June to allow the removal of a monument to Confederate soldiers and sailors in a city park.
“Most have not been toppled down by protesters,” said Hillary Green, a professor at the University of Alabama who studies the Civil War, Reconstruction and 19th-century history. “The majority that are coming down are the ones in front of courthouses.”
Confederate monuments have a racist legacy
Most Confederate monuments erected before 1890 tended to be memorials to dead soldiers, erected in cemeteries. But as the Jim Crow South emerged and white Southerners stripped Black citizens of the right to vote, the memorials began moving into public spaces. White women’s organizations, particularly the United Daughters of the Confederacy, spearheaded the construction and creation of the monuments.
“The UDC might have fundraised to design and purchase and then put in place the monuments, but it’s subsequent governments who continued to uphold and maintain them,” Green said. “While they look like a private organization, they’re going hand in hand with the emergence of a white supremacist racial government structure.”
The Black press and African American groups fought the rise of the monuments, though there weren’t the mass protests in the streets seen as part of today’s opposition to Confederate monuments.
Kevin Levin, a historian and author of multiple books on the Civil War and the legacy of the Confederacy, said the monuments were “about solidifying white rule,” and noted that due to disenfranchisement, Black citizens wielded little power to take part in discussions about what should be placed in a public square.
“These monuments were about making sure the younger generation that didn’t experience the war, didn’t experience Reconstruction in the 1870s, that they never forget what their parents and grandparents fought for,” Levin said. “That the cause of white supremacy was their cause moving forward into the 20th century.”
Learotha Williams, a historian in Nashville and professor at Tennessee State University, has traveled the state studying historic markers.
“When it comes to public memory, I’m sure that around the time when these statues went up, there were people walking around who remembered the buying and selling of human beings in that space,” Williams said.
He noted a nameless Confederate soldier monument erected in 1899 in Franklin, Tennessee, just south of Nashville.
Learotha Williams, Nashville historian and professor at Tennessee State University He stands in the same square where they had lynched a man a few years before they put it up. Quote icon
“He stands in the same square where they had lynched a man a few years before they put it up,” Williams said.
Monument erection slowed down after the 1920s, due in part to saturation, but rose again during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s.
Efforts to remove symbols of the Confederacy go back decades. Black legislators in Alabama fought for years to remove the Confederate flag from the state Capitol, placed there in 1961, before finally succeeding in 1993. The efforts accelerated after a white supremacist killed nine Black worshippers at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, and after a white supremacist killed a protester and wounded 28 others in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
All the state laws protecting Confederate monuments in the former Confederacy are 20 years old or younger. Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee have either enacted or strengthened their preservation laws in the past five years.
Paul Gramling Jr., commander in chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, said the monuments for him “represent those men who never came home” and he defended existing restrictions on removal.
“I discount anything when they say they want to put it in a museum or a cemetery,” he said. “I discount that. If you compromise and do that, they’re going to be coming at you later to move it from that spot.”
Lecia Brooks, chief of staff for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said the organization opposes public celebrations of the Confederacy, not cemetery monuments. The laws protecting public Confederate monuments, she said, reflect state governments imposing their will on smaller communities, many with predominantly Black populations.
“Birmingham is a perfect example,” she said. “You have a majority African American population, an African American mayor, they all agree they want it gone. And the state would prevent them from doing that.”
Removing monuments won't fix deeper issues
While a yearslong vocal fight in Memphis preceded the removal of the city’s statues, an hour to the east in Bolivar sits one of the first Confederate monuments erected in the South.
A monument to fallen Confederate soldiers, the obelisk installed in the late 1860s and dedicated in 1873 sits on the south lawn of the Hardeman County Courthouse and has largely gone unnoticed.
Name: Hardeman County Confederate Monument. Location: Hardeman County Courthouse. Date: Dedicated January 1, 1873. Max Gersh / The Commercial Appeal
There have been no Black Lives Matter protests in Bolivar, no large public cries in recent years for the monument to come down. But as a movement to confront symbols of racism sweeps the nation, efforts to remove the obelisk are starting.
“If the idea of this had not come up as a nationwide issue, probably most people would have been like me, just never paid it any attention,” said Tennessee state Rep. Johnny Shaw, 78, a Democrat from Bolivar.
Similarly to Harris in Lowndes County, Alabama, Shaw has lived in Hardeman County since his family was forced off the land they sharecropped elsewhere in west Tennessee in the late 1950s after his father registered to vote.
Shaw hopes he can help facilitate the county monument’s removal, but he knows it will face resistance. He said he’ll work to see that happen but is not willing to see rioting or vandalism occur in the process. And more importantly, Shaw said, he knows removal of a monument won’t eliminate racism.
“I think at the end of the day, the people who know right and wrong are going to have to understand there are some things we’re just going to have to live with until God transitions us out of this world,” said Shaw, who in 2000 became the first Black lawmaker to represent his district since Reconstruction.
Bolivar Mayor Julian McTizic, who in 2017 became the city’s youngest mayor at age 30 and the first African American to hold the office, does not have a fire under his feet to call for removal. Since he took office amid a national debate on monuments, he has not had a resident approach him about the monument, McTizic said.
“Nobody wants a race war to start out in their town,” he said. “No one knows how to deal with all of it.”
Like Shaw, Alabama House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, also said that while he wanted the monuments to come down, they’re primarily a “cosmetic issue.” In addition to removal, there must be conversations about systemic racism in education funding, health care, poverty and many other areas.
Shining a light on inequality: Pamela Rush exposed the injustice of poverty in rural Alabama. Ultimately it stole her life.
“I think we’ve got to dig deep in those things,” he said. “This pandemic has exposed our lack of health care infrastructure. … We’ve got to look at obvious disparities in poor communities and especially communities of color in general.”
Lowndes County bears witness to those issues.
More than 25% of the county population lives in poverty, and poor sewage and water infrastructure has led to a rise in tropical diseases there in recent years. The COVID-19 outbreak and economic fallout have hit the county hard: The unemployment rate hit a Great Depression-like 26% in April before falling back to a still-catastrophically high 16.9% in June, compared with 5.7% a year before.
The county struggles to attract industry, Harris said, and has a small tax base that makes investments in economic development difficult. The commissioner accuses the Legislature of “setting up winners and losers” that contribute to Lowndes County’s struggles.
There are other reminders of the county's past on the lawn outside the courthouse. A monument to fallen law enforcement officers sits on one end. On another is a brick column dedicated to Jonathan Myrick Daniels, a white seminarian and civil rights activist killed shortly after his release from jail in 1965.
Taking down the Confederate monument, Harris said, was “a step in the right direction,” if only for taking down a reminder of the roots of the troubles that Lowndes still grapples with.
Robert Harris, Lowndes County commissioner We’re still behind on everything, and we have to work twice as hard as others in order to get where we need to be. Quote icon
But the troubles are still there.
“The equality that we’ve worked so hard to have has not yet come to pass,” Harris said. “We’re still behind on everything, and we have to work twice as hard as others in order to get where we need to be. When we started, we were already behind the eight ball.”
Moving forward, cities will have to determine if they’re prepared to sink resources into cleaning vandalism, staging law enforcement to protect monuments or installing cameras nearby.
“There’s a lot of pressure right now on local communities,” said Levin, the Civil War historian. “If there are loopholes to be had, they’re going to find them if they want to remove their statues. That pressure and their intensity is going to determine how it evolves.”
Southern state governments – which in recent years have continued to resist the removal of monuments – have begun to show some degree of progress.
Soon after the Mississippi Legislature – facing pressure from the NCAA and Southeastern Conference to no longer hold championship games in the state – voted in June to establish a new state flag that did not feature the Confederate battle flag, a key commission in Tennessee cast a vote in favor of removing a bust of Forrest from the state Capitol.
Nathan Bedford Forrest in the Tennessee Capitol:
The same commission, composed of state officials, legislative appointees and private citizens appointed by the governor, had voted against doing so in 2017. The fate of the Confederate bust still must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Tennessee Historical Commission, as part of the state’s Heritage Protection Act.
Confederate monuments are being taken down or defaced by protesters all around the world Historical Confederate monuments are being taken down and defaced from protests over the death of George Floyd. USA TODAY, Storyful
It was behind-the-scenes maneuvering of Republican Gov. Bill Lee – making strategic appointments to the commission and working to whip votes – that resulted in a different outcome this time.
A bipartisan will to remove other monuments will likely be key elsewhere.
“When you name a park after someone or put up a statue of them, it is to honor that person,” Strickland said. “And you’re telling all your citizens that this is somebody that we need to honor.
“We all came together to do it. We really came together – white, Black, Democrat, Republican, saying it’s a new day in Memphis.”
Brian Lyman reports for the Montgomery Advertiser. Natalie Allison writes for The Tennessean in Nashville.


usatoday--2020-07-31--Fewer Americans say they would resume daily activities as coronavirus cases increase, survey finds

WASHINGTON – A couple of months ago , some Americans began to participate in everyday activities like going to restaurants and eating with friends after states began loosening social distancing restrictions for the coronavirus pandemic .
But as the number of COVID-19 cases has risen again , some Americans are losing confidence in resuming things like sending their child back to school , going to a religious service or eating at a restaurant , according to a new study .
Only 44 % of Americans say they would send their child back to school if restrictions were lifted by public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project that was conducted the week of July 9 .
That is a 4 percentage point drop from June , when 48 % of Americans said they would .
In a July 16 survey , 44 % of Americanswho regularly engage in this activity said they would attend a religious service , a 5 percentage point drop from June .
The largest drop was among those who said they would have dinner at a friend ’ s house , with 59 % saying they would , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Are you registered to vote ?
Check your status or register here “ We 're kind of going to go through waves with this stuff , at least in the United States , where we are experiencing this second surge , and where you 're going to see people feel less confident about trying to reengage in these activities that defined their life pre-COVID , ” said Robert Griffin , research director for the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group .
Griffin noted that before the new rise in coronavirus cases , around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ getting more and more confident about the idea that they 'd be returning to different types of activities ” like concerts or going to church .
Some states began lifting social distancing restrictions in May and June .
However , over the past several weeks , states like California , Texas , Arizona and Florida , have seen a rise in cases , which has caused the states to pause plans to re-open .
On Thursday , there were more than 4.4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have seen a drop in Americans saying they would do include : • 23 % of Americans said in the July 9 survey that they would go to a concert , compared with 30 % in June .
• In the July 9 survey , 34 % of Americans said they would fly on an airplane , while that number was at 39 % in June .
• 54 % of Americans said they would attend a funeral , according to the July 16 survey , a 5 percentage point drop from June @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said that they would go to the movies in the July 16 survey , compared with 36 % in June .
• There was a 5 percentage drop to 50 % in July among those who said they would eat at a restaurant .
• 40 % of Americans said in the July 16 survey they would attend a wedding , while 47 % said they would in the June survey .
• Only 27 % in the July 9 survey said they would attend a sporting event , a 5 percentage point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and UCLA Nationscape Project is a large-scale study of the American electorate designed to conduct 500,000 interviews about policies and the presidential candidates during the 2020 election cycle .
The latest poll was conducted between July 16 and 22 , surveying 5,898 Americans .
There is a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points .
The second July poll was conducted between July 9 and 15 , surveying 6,291 Americans .
There is a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points .
The older poll was conducted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , surveying 6,897 Americans .
The margin of error is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points .
The divide among Democrats and Republicans wanting to resume some of these activities has also grown , according to the Nationscape Insights analysis , a project of Democracy Fund , UCLA and USA TODAY .
Where do Americans stand on the issues : Let them tell you .
For example , more than half ( 58 % ) of Republicans said in the July 9 survey that they would send their child back to school .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 35 % of Democrats and 37 % of Independents said they would send their child back to school .
`` This reflects some of the polarization that started to occur around this issue with the president taking a pretty strongly pro-opening of the schools position , '' Griffin said .
`` There 's still a lot of concern on the other side of the aisle about reopening under the current conditions .
So you 're starting to see this partisan split that 's developed now . ''
That is n't the only issue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other data includes : • 59 % of Republicans said they would attend religious services , compared with 33 % of Democrats .
• Among those who would attend a concert , 33 % of Republicans and 15 % of Democrats said they would .
• 70 % of Republicans said they would have dinner at a friend 's house while 52 % of Democrats said they would .
• There is a 20 percentage point divide among those who would fly in an airplane , with 46 % of Republicans saying they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying they would .
• 67 % of Republicans said they would attend a funeral , compared with 44 % of Democrats • Among those who would go to the movies , 39 % of Republicans said they would compared with 23 % of Democrats • There 's a 26 percentage point divide among those who would eat at a restaurant , with 65 % of Republicans saying they would compared with 39 % of Democrats .

Fewer Americans say they would resume daily activities as coronavirus cases increase, survey finds
Show Caption Hide Caption US hits 150,000 COVID-19 deaths, states reconsider reopenings The US recently topped 4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and now has reached another unenviable milestone. USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – A couple of months ago, some Americans began to participate in everyday activities such as going to restaurants and eating with friends after states loosened social distancing restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.
Since the number of COVID-19 cases has risen again, some Americans have lost confidence in sending their child back to school, going to a religious service or eating at a restaurant, according to a new study.
Forty-four percent of Americans say they would send their child back to school if restrictions were lifted by public health officials, according to a survey from the Democracy Fund and UCLA Nationscape Project that was conducted the week of July 9. That is a 4-percentage-point drop from June, when 48% of Americans said they would.
In a survey July 16, 44% of Americans who regularly engage in religious services say they would attend one, a 5-percentage-point drop from June.
The largest drop is among those who say they would have dinner at a friend’s house: 59% say they would, an 8-percentage-point drop from June.
Are you registered to vote? Check your status or register here
“We're kind of going to go through waves with this stuff, at least in the United States, where we are experiencing this second surge and where you're going to see people feel less confident about trying to reengage in these activities that defined their life pre-COVID,” says Robert Griffin, research director for the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group.
Griffin says that before the new rise in coronavirus cases, around April through June, “people were getting more and more confident about the idea that they'd be returning to different types of activities” such as concerts or church.
Some states began lifting social distancing restrictions in May and June. Over the past several weeks, California, Texas, Arizona and Florida have seen a rise in cases, which caused the states to pause plans to reopen. Monday, there were more than 4.6 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the USA, according to Johns Hopkins University.
US coronavirus map: Tracking the outbreak
Other activities that fewer Americans say they would do:
23% of Americans say in the July 9 survey that they would go to a concert, compared with 30% in June.
In the survey July 9, 34% of Americans say they would fly on an airplane. That percentage was 39% in June.
54% of Americans say they would attend a funeral, according to the survey July 16, a 5-percentage-point drop from June.
30% of Americans say they would go to the movies in the survey July 16, compared with 36% in June.
There is a 5-percentage-point drop to 50% in July among those who say they would eat at a restaurant.
40% of Americans say in the survey July 16 they would attend a wedding; 47% said they would in the June survey.
27% in the survey July 9 say they would attend a sporting event, a 5-percentage-point drop from June.
McEnany: Schools, teachers considered 'essential' White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany doubled down on President Donald Trump's insistence that schools reopen in the fall despite a nationwide surge in virus cases, saying the White House believes schools and teachers are "essential." (July 24) AP
The Democracy Fund and UCLA Nationscape Project is a large-scale study of the American electorate designed to conduct 500,000 interviews about policies and the presidential candidates during the 2020 election cycle. The latest poll was conducted July 16 to 22, surveying 5,898 Americans. There is a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points. The second poll was conducted July 9 to 15, surveying 6,291 Americans. There is a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points. The previous month's poll was conducted the week of June 11 to 17, surveying 6,897 Americans. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.
The divide among Democrats and Republicans wanting to resume some of these activities has grown, according to the Nationscape Insights analysis, a project of Democracy Fund, UCLA and USA TODAY.
Where do Americans stand on the issues: Let them tell you.
More than half (58%) of Republicans say in the survey July 9 that they would send their child back to school. In that same survey, 35% of Democrats and 37% of independents say they would.
"This reflects some of the polarization that started to occur around this issue with the president taking a pretty strongly pro-opening of the schools position," Griffin says. "There's still a lot of concern on the other side of the aisle about reopening under the current conditions. So you're starting to see this partisan split that's developed now."
That isn't the only issue where a divide is growing:
59% of Republicans say they would attend religious services, compared with 33% of Democrats.
33% of Republicans and 15% of Democrats say they would attend a concert.
70% of Republicans say they would have dinner at a friend's house; 52% of Democrats say they would.
There is a 20-percentage-point divide among those who would fly in an airplane: 46% of Republicans say they would and 26% of Democrats.
67% of Republicans say they would attend a funeral, compared with 44% of Democrats
39% of Republicans say they would go to the movies compared with 23% of Democrats
There's a 26-percentage-point divide among those who would eat at a restaurant: 65% of Republicans compared with 39% of Democrats.


usatoday--2020-07-31--Police officers should not be charged with Breonna Taylor's death, criminal law experts say

LOUISVILLE , Ky. – LeBron James wants them charged .
So does Beyoncé .
And so do 10 million other people who have signed a petition at change.org demanding justice for Breonna Taylor — and that Louisville Metro Police Sgt .
Jonathan Mattingly and ex-Officer Brett Hankison be charged with killing her .
But in interviews and emails , seven experienced Louisville defense lawyers who are not involved in the case — and who have an average of 37 years each in practice — say the officers should not be charged with murder or manslaughter because they had a legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shot at them .
Three of the attorneys are Black .
“ It is unfortunate that this young lady was killed , ” said Aubrey Williams , a former president of Louisville ’ s NAACP chapter who has spent much of his 40-year career fighting police in court .
“ But for the life of me I don ’ t see them indicting or convicting.
” Jan Waddell , another defense lawyer who is Black and has likewise frequently tangled with police , also said Mattingly and Cosgrove are likely immune from prosecution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fire in self-defense when Mattingly was hit in the leg with a bullet fired by Taylor 's boyfriend , Kenneth Walker , who said he did n't know the intruders were police and thought the couple was being robbed .
“ The seemingly unending list of unarmed Black men who have been and continue to be gunned down by white police officers ... does not and can not justify the return of an indictment based on revenge rather than the facts of the case and the law , ” Waddell said .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ civil lawyer for Taylor ’ s family , acknowledged Louisville police had a right to return fire immediately after they were fired upon shortly after midnight March 13 .
But he said evidence shows they continued to shoot after they were no longer in danger .
He who reported hearing gunfire , then 68 seconds later in the same call said she heard more .
The latest on Breonna Taylor 's case : Autopsy , police radio files should n't be released yet , Attorney General says Most of the lawyers , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should be charged with wanton endangerment .
Acting LMPD Chief Robert Schroeder fired him for showing `` extreme indifference to the value of human life '' when he `` blindly fired 10 rounds into the back of Taylor 's apartment and the one next door without verifying they were directed against someone who posed an immediate threat . ''
Hankison ’ s attorney , David Leightty , said in appealing his client 's termination in June that the officer fired his gun “ in quick response to the gunfire directed at himself and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blindly into Taylor ’ s apartment .
Leightty said he is not a criminal attorney and declined to comment on whether his client should or will be charged with a crime .
Waddell and two other lawyers , Ted Shouse and Guthrie True of Frankfort , said they think Mattingly and Cosgrove will be charged in Taylor ’ s death only if Attorney General Daniel Cameron believes his office can prove the warrant to search her apartment was obtained fraudulently by another detective — and Mattingly and Cosgrove knew that .
Detective Joshua @ @ @ @ @ @ @ search warrant that a U.S. postal inspector verified that an alleged drug dealer was receiving packages at Taylor ’ s home , but the inspector latertold WDRB that no suspicious packages were being sent to Taylor .
The FBI is investigating the circumstances surrounding the March 13 warrant , and Jaynes has been placed on administrative reassignment .
He did not respond to an email seeking comment and has not responded to a request for comment left with LMPD .
Jaynes could be charged with false swearing , at a minimum , Shouse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information in the warrant application .
If Mattingly and Cosgrove knew the warrant was obtained improperly , Waddell and the other two lawyers said , the search may have been unlawful , which would mean they could lose their right to self-defense .
But other attorneys — including the former prosecutors — say that argument is far-fetched and it is unlikely Cameron would pursue a prosecution based on that theory .
Cameron , who has been investigating the shooting since May 13 , when Commonwealth 's Attorney Tom Wine requested a special prosecutor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or whether he will present the case to a grand jury .
Under state law , the use of deadly force is justified by anyone — civilian or police — if that person believes such force is necessary to protect them against death or physical injury .
Louisville Metro Police policy also says officers may use deadly force when the officer reasonably believes “ based on the facts and circumstances that the person against whom the force is used poses an immediate threat of death or serious injury.
” Mattingly has told investigators @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warrant , he knocked repeatedly on the door of Taylor ’ s apartment and announced he was an officer before he and Cosgrove used a battering ram to knock the door down when nobody answered .
More : Breonna Taylor was alive after police shot her , but no one tried to treat her Mattingly said when they entered , a man who turned out to be Taylor ’ s boyfriend — Walker — fired one shot that struck him in the leg .
Mattingly , Cosgrove and Hankison returned fire , Hankison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Taylor was shot five times and died in her hallway .
Walker has said he fired what he described as a warning shot , to stop what he thought might be a robbery .
“ Where a shot is fired by someone in the house , it is logical and pursuant to training that the officer or officers would return fire , ” said Frankfort attorney William E. Johnson , who was admitted to practice in 1957 and is considered the dean of Kentucky criminal defense lawyers .
Other lawyers said if police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are shot at , nobody would be willing to work as an officer .
All the attorneys contacted by The Courier Journal described Taylor ’ s death as a tragedy and several said her family deserves to be compensated by the city for their loss .
“ This case is an unmitigated disaster , ” Shouse said .
“ It stinks to high heaven .
We can either acknowledge this and make much needed reforms , or we can do what appears to be happening : using the same old playbook and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It won't.
” Three months after the Taylor shooting , .
However , Shouse suggested two other reforms : assigning warrant applications to judges at random , rather than letting police officers shop for one they think will be accommodating , and recording the conversations between judges and officers .
“ Every other interaction between a judge and a player in the criminal justice system is recorded , '' he said .
“ Why not this ?
” The attorneys for Taylor ’ s estate , Aguiar and Lonita Baker of Louisville and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have called for criminal charges against the three officers .
Aguiar said Hankison should be charged with attempted murder .
Mattingly and Cosgrove were placed on administrative assignment .
Attorney Marc Murphy declined to say if he thinks they should be charged in Taylor ’ s death .
But he said prosecutors will have to look at their individual conduct — and Hankison ’ s — and their conduct together , because under Kentucky law , if a person is murdered through the collective efforts of three people , all can be charged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caused the death .
Taylor ’ s death has prompted an international outcry and more than 60 days of protests throughout Louisville .
Williams said he understands the “ anger of LeBron and Beyoncé ” and other protesters and applauds them for expressing their pain .
“ But just because we have had these brutal things that have happened to our people down through the ages doesn ’ t mean these cops should be charged , ” he said .
Waddell , who has won exonerations for Black people convicted as a result @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ If we , as Black people , are willing to condone the return of an indictment for murder when the facts ... clearly do not justify the return of such an indictment , then we will lose our moral authority .
“ If we want ‘ equal justice ’ ’ ’ he said , “ we must we willing to accept that the police are also entitled to ‘ equal justice ’ when the facts and circumstances demand it .
”

Andrew Wolfson, Louisville Courier Journal

Police officers should not be charged with Breonna Taylor's death, criminal law experts say
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – LeBron James wants them charged. So does Beyoncé.
And so do 10 million other people who have signed a petition at change.org demanding justice for Breonna Taylor – and that Louisville Metro Police Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly , Officer Myles Cosgrove and ex-Officer Brett Hankison be charged with killing her.
But in interviews and emails, seven experienced Louisville defense lawyers who are not involved in the case – and who have an average of 37 years each in practice – say the officers should not be charged with murder or manslaughter because they had a legal right to defend themselves once her boyfriend shot at them.
Three of the attorneys are Black.
“It is unfortunate that this young lady was killed,” said Aubrey Williams, a former president of Louisville’s NAACP chapter who has spent much of his 40-year career fighting police in court.
“But for the life of me I don’t see them indicting or convicting.”
Jan Waddell, another defense lawyer who is Black and has likewise frequently tangled with police, also said Mattingly and Cosgrove are likely immune from prosecution. Waddell said Kentucky law allowed them to return fire in self-defense when Mattingly was hit in the leg with a bullet fired by Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who said he didn't know the intruders were police and thought the couple was being robbed.
“The seemingly unending list of unarmed Black men who have been and continue to be gunned down by white police officers ... does not and cannot justify the return of an indictment based on revenge rather than the facts of the case and the law,” Waddell said.
In an interview, Sam Aguiar, a civil lawyer for Taylor’s family, acknowledged Louisville police had a right to return fire immediately after they were fired upon shortly after midnight March 13. But he said evidence shows they continued to shoot after they were no longer in danger.
He cites a 911 call from a neighbor who reported hearing gunfire, then 68 seconds later in the same call said she heard more.
The latest on Breonna Taylor's case: Autopsy, police radio files shouldn't be released yet, Attorney General says
Most of the lawyers, who include three former prosecutors, said Hankison should be charged with wanton endangerment. Acting LMPD Chief Robert Schroeder fired him for showing "extreme indifference to the value of human life" when he "blindly fired 10 rounds into the back of Taylor's apartment and the one next door without verifying they were directed against someone who posed an immediate threat."
Hankison’s attorney, David Leightty, said in appealing his client's termination in June that the officer fired his gun “in quick response to the gunfire directed at himself and other officers” and did not fire blindly into Taylor’s apartment.
Leightty said he is not a criminal attorney and declined to comment on whether his client should or will be charged with a crime.
Waddell and two other lawyers, Ted Shouse and Guthrie True of Frankfort, said they think Mattingly and Cosgrove will be charged in Taylor’s death only if Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron believes his office can prove the warrant to search her apartment was obtained fraudulently by another detective – and Mattingly and Cosgrove knew that.
“That’s a big if,” Shouse said.
Detective Joshua Jaynes said in an application for the search warrant that a U.S. postal inspector verified that an alleged drug dealer was receiving packages at Taylor’s home, but the inspector later told WDRB that no suspicious packages were being sent to Taylor.
The FBI is investigating the circumstances surrounding the March 13 warrant, and Jaynes has been placed on administrative reassignment. He did not respond to an email seeking comment and has not responded to a request for comment left with LMPD.
Protesters arrested outside Kentucky AG's home Police say they arrested 87 demonstrators Tuesday who gathered at the home of Kentucky's Attorney General Daniel Cameron to demand justice for Breonna Taylor. (July 15) AP
Jaynes could be charged with false swearing, at a minimum, Shouse said, if he knowingly included false information in the warrant application.
If Mattingly and Cosgrove knew the warrant was obtained improperly, Waddell and the other two lawyers said, the search may have been unlawful, which would mean they could lose their right to self-defense.
But other attorneys – including the former prosecutors – say that argument is far-fetched and it is unlikely Cameron would pursue a prosecution based on that theory.
Cameron, who has been investigating the shooting since May 13, when Commonwealth's Attorney Tom Wine requested a special prosecutor, has declined to comment on when or whether he will present the case to a grand jury.
Under state law, the use of deadly force is justified by anyone – civilian or police – if that person believes such force is necessary to protect them against death or physical injury.
Louisville Metro Police policy also says officers may use deadly force when the officer reasonably believes “based on the facts and circumstances that the person against whom the force is used poses an immediate threat of death or serious injury.”
Mattingly has told investigators that even though police had a "no-knock" warrant, he knocked repeatedly on the door of Taylor’s apartment and announced he was an officer before he and Cosgrove used a battering ram to knock the door down when nobody answered.
More: Breonna Taylor was alive after police shot her, but no one tried to treat her
Mattingly said when they entered, a man who turned out to be Taylor’s boyfriend – Walker – fired one shot that struck him in the leg. Mattingly, Cosgrove and Hankison returned fire, Hankison from the back of the apartment.
Taylor, 26, was shot five times and died in her hallway.
Walker has said he fired what he described as a warning shot, to stop what he thought might be a robbery.
“Where a shot is fired by someone in the house, it is logical and pursuant to training that the officer or officers would return fire,” said Frankfort attorney William E. Johnson, who was admitted to practice in 1957 and is considered the dean of Kentucky criminal defense lawyers.
Other lawyers said if police are not allowed to return fire when they are shot at, nobody would be willing to work as an officer.
All the attorneys contacted by The Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, described Taylor’s death as a tragedy and several said her family deserves to be compensated by the city for their loss.
“This case is an unmitigated disaster,” Shouse said. “It stinks to high heaven. We can either acknowledge this and make much needed reforms, or we can do what appears to be happening: using the same old playbook and hoping this mess will blow over. It won't.”
Three months after the Taylor shooting, the city banned no-knock warrants . However, Shouse suggested two other reforms: assigning warrant applications to judges at random, rather than letting police officers shop for one they think will be accommodating, and recording the conversations between judges and officers.
“Every other interaction between a judge and a player in the criminal justice system is recorded," he said. “Why not this?”
Fact check: Debunking 7 widely shared rumors in the Breonna Taylor police shooting
The attorneys for Taylor’s estate, Aguiar and Lonita Baker of Louisville and Benjamin Crump of Tallahassee, Florida, have called for criminal charges against the three officers. Aguiar said Hankison should be charged with attempted murder.
Mattingly and Cosgrove were placed on administrative assignment.
Attorney Marc Murphy declined to say if he thinks they should be charged in Taylor’s death. But he said prosecutors will have to look at their individual conduct – and Hankison’s – and their conduct together, because under Kentucky law, if a person is murdered through the collective efforts of three people, all can be charged with murder regardless of whose bullets actually caused the death.
Taylor’s death has prompted an international outcry and more than 60 days of protests throughout Louisville.
Williams said he understands the “anger of LeBron and Beyoncé” and other protesters and applauds them for expressing their pain.
“But just because we have had these brutal things that have happened to our people down through the ages doesn’t mean these cops should be charged,” he said.
Waddell, who has won exonerations for Black people convicted as a result of police incompetence and misconduct, said: “If we, as Black people, are willing to condone the return of an indictment for murder when the facts ... clearly do not justify the return of such an indictment, then we will lose our moral authority.
“If we want ‘equal justice,’’’ he said, “we must we willing to accept that the police are also entitled to ‘equal justice’ when the facts and circumstances demand it.”
Follow Louisville Courier Journal reporter Andrew Wolfson on Twitter: @adwolfson


usatoday--2020-07-31--'Lucky recipient of a monster': Man snags 146-pound world record paddlefish in Oklahoma

SPRINGFIELD , Mo .
— It was Caitlin Lukehart 's turn to snag the next paddlefish .
But she was too tired from already catching several big ones , so she let her husband have the next turn on the pole .
That twist of fate Sunday gave James Lukehart a likely world record paddlefish weighing 146 pounds , 11 ounces .
It also broke the current Oklahoma paddlefish record by several pounds .
Lukehart snagged the behemoth at Keystone Lake , a portion of the Arkansas River west of Tulsa , Oklahoma .
Guide Jeremiah Mefford said he saw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but it was sheer luck that Lukehart was able to snag it .
`` It was his first time out and he was the lucky recipient of a monster , '' Mefford said .
`` It was extremely windy , with winds blowing 20-25 mph , with very powerful rolling waves . ''
Despite the rough conditions , it did n't take Lukehart long to get the fish up to the boat , in part because of the way the fish was hooked .
`` It was snagged towards the top half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` When they 're hooked that way , they do n't have a tendency to pull that long . ''
Suspecting it might be a possible world record paddlefish , Mefford motored to a nearby boat ramp and called the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife and Conservation , and a fisheries biologist met them to officially weigh the paddlefish .
It eclipsed by more than two pounds the 144-pound paddlefish caught in a Kansas farm pond that currently holds the world record .
Mefford said the conservation biologist estimated the fish to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was still actively swimming , and its hook injury was n't too severe , so the biologist allowed the fish to be released back into the lake .
`` The fish spent very little time out of water , just enough to get some pictures , '' Mefford said .
Keystone Lake in Oklahoma is n't the only place where huge paddlefish reside .
In March 2015 Missouri resident Andy Belobraydic caught a 140-pound , 9-ounce paddlefish during his first snagging trip on the James River arm of Table Rock Lake .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 139 pounds , 4 ounces caught in 2002 , also at Table Rock Lake .

'Lucky recipient of a monster': Man snags 146-pound world record paddlefish in Oklahoma
Show Caption Hide Caption Orca mother who carried her dead calf for 17 days is pregnant again Two years ago, an orca known as Tahlequah carried her dead calf for 17 days and more than 1,000 miles. Scientists say that she is now pregnant again. USA TODAY
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — It was Caitlin Lukehart's turn to snag the next paddlefish.
But she was too tired from already catching several big ones, so she let her husband have the next turn on the pole.
That twist of fate Sunday gave James Lukehart a likely world record paddlefish weighing 146 pounds, 11 ounces. It also broke the current Oklahoma paddlefish record by several pounds.
Lukehart snagged the behemoth at Keystone Lake, a portion of the Arkansas River west of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Guide Jeremiah Mefford said he saw the huge fish on his fish finder, but it was sheer luck that Lukehart was able to snag it.
"It was his first time out and he was the lucky recipient of a monster," Mefford said. "It was extremely windy, with winds blowing 20-25 mph, with very powerful rolling waves."
Despite the rough conditions, it didn't take Lukehart long to get the fish up to the boat, in part because of the way the fish was hooked.
"It was snagged towards the top half of the fish," Mefford recalled. "When they're hooked that way, they don't have a tendency to pull that long."
Suspecting it might be a possible world record paddlefish, Mefford motored to a nearby boat ramp and called the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife and Conservation, and a fisheries biologist met them to officially weigh the paddlefish.
It eclipsed by more than two pounds the 144-pound paddlefish caught in a Kansas farm pond that currently holds the world record.
Mefford said the conservation biologist estimated the fish to be 25 to 35 years old. It was still actively swimming, and its hook injury wasn't too severe, so the biologist allowed the fish to be released back into the lake.
"The fish spent very little time out of water, just enough to get some pictures," Mefford said.
Keystone Lake in Oklahoma isn't the only place where huge paddlefish reside.
In March 2015 Missouri resident Andy Belobraydic caught a 140-pound, 9-ounce paddlefish during his first snagging trip on the James River arm of Table Rock Lake.
It broke the previous Missouri paddlefish record of 139 pounds, 4 ounces caught in 2002, also at Table Rock Lake.


usatoday--2020-07-31--Hurricane Isaias forecast to become Category 2 storm; east coast of Florida in forecast path

• Heavy rain associated with Isaias could arrive in South and east-Central Florida tonight .
• Tropical storm watch in effect for Ocean Reef to Sebastian Inlet and Lake Okeechobee .
BREVARD , Fla. – Hurricane Isaias is maintaining 80 mph winds and could grow into a Category 2 storm as it approaches Florida , according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center .
Winds are forecast to reach 100 mph by Saturday .
The east coast of Florida is in the forecast path of the large hurricane , and a tropical storm watch is in effect from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lake Okeechobee .
Strong winds and heavy rain , along with dangerous beach conditions , are possible along coast over the weekend , according to the National Weather Service , Melbourne .
Tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch area in Florida beginning Saturday .
At 8 a.m. , the center of Hurricane Isaias was located 340 miles southeast of Nassau .
Isaias is moving toward the northwest near 17 mph , and a generally northwest motion with some decrease in forward speed is expected for the next couple of days , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
On the forecast track , the center of Isaias will move near or over the Southeastern Bahamas today .
► Stay informed with the latest news by becoming a subscriber Isaias is forecast to be near the Central Bahamas tonight , and move near or over the Northwestern Bahamas and be near or east of Florida on Saturday and Sunday .
Maximum sustained winds are near 80 mph , with higher gusts .
Some strengthening is possible today , and Isaias is expected to remain a hurricane for the next few days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Storm Isaias could play out Isaias ?
: Here 's how hurricanes get their names Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles , from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles .
What impact will Tropical Storm Isaias have on Florida ?
Tropical storm conditions are possible across Florida over the weekend .
The National Weather Service , Melbourne , said impacts to east Central Florida include : • Strong tropical storm to hurricane-force winds will be possible along the coast over the weekend , especially the barrier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 35-65 mph possible , with the highest winds near the coast .
• 3-5 inches of rain , mostly along the Treasure Coast Gov .
Ron DeSantis Wednesday encouraged everyone to prepare by having at least seven days of supplies .
# Disaster supply kit checklist '' The U.S. will only get skimmed in Florida and the Carolina coastline with the only possible landfall along the Carolina coast early next week , '' AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert said .
`` It will be losing wind intensity by that time though , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wind and rough surf , especially to the Florida and Carolina coastline . ''
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller cautioned that people should not focus on just the eye path given the sweeping size of Isaias .
Torrential downpours , gusty thunderstorms and building seas are likely to precede Isaias by as much as 24 hours , which means that tropical storm conditions will spread northwestward across Cuba during through early Saturday and should begin in Miami during Friday night or early Saturday morning .
A hurricane warning is in effect for : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Crooked Island , Long Cay , the Inaguas , Mayaguana , and the Ragged Islands A tropical storm warning is in effect for : A tropical storm watch is in effect for : • East coast of Florida from Ocean Reef to Sebastian Inlet Storm surge : A dangerous storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 3 to 5 feet above normal tide levels in areas of onshore winds in the Bahamas .
Wind : Tropical storm conditions will continue across portions of the Dominican Republic , Haiti , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hurricane conditions are expected to begin in the southeastern Bahamas this morning and spread into the central and northwestern Bahamas tonight and into Saturday .
Tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch area in Florida beginning Saturday .
Rainfall : Isaias is expected to produce the following rain accumulations through Saturday : • Dominican Republic and northern Haiti : 4 to 8 inches , with isolated maximum totals of 12 inches .
• Bahamas , Turks and Caicos : 4 to 8 inches .
Cuba : 1 to 2 inches , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ These rainfall amounts will lead to life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides , as well as river flooding .
Urban and small stream flooding is expected for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Hispaniola .
• South Florida into east-Central Florida : 2 to 4 inches , with isolated maximum totals of 6 inches .
These rainfall amounts could result in isolated flash and urban flooding , especially in low-lying and poorly drained areas .
Heavy rains associated with Isaias may begin to affect the eastern Carolinas by early next week .
This rain could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , especially in low-lying and poorly drained areas , as well as isolated minor river flooding .
Surf : wells generated by Isaias are affecting portions of Puerto Rico , the Dominican Republic , the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas .
These swells will spread along the coast of Cuba and into the central and northwestern Bahamas later today and along the east coast of Florida on Saturday .
These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions .

Cheryl McCloud, Treasure Coast Newspapers

Hurricane Isaias forecast to become 90 mph storm; hurricane watch issued for Florida's east coast
Show Caption Hide Caption Hurricane Isaias forecasted to move further east away from Florida coast Hurricane Isaias is forecasted to move further east away from Florida's coast but will still bring wind and rain over the weekend. Tronc - Sun Sentinel, Tronc - Sun Sentinel
Heavy rain associated with Isaias could arrive in South and east-Central Florida tonight.
Tropical storm conditions possible along Florida's east coast starting Saturday.
Tropical storm watch in effect for Ocean Reef to Sebastian Inlet and Lake Okeechobee.
BREVARD, Fla. – Hurricane watches are in effect for the east coast of Florida as Hurricane Isaias weakened slightly, with winds dropping to 75 mph as it moved toward a likely weekend arrival offshore, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
Earlier forecasts that Isaias could become a Category 2 hurricane Saturday have been revised. Winds are now forecast to reach 90 mph by the time it approaches Florida, which is Category 1 strength.
The NHC said Isaias is forecast to move near or over the Northwestern Bahamas Saturday and near the east coast of the Florida peninsula Saturday afternoon through Sunday.
The east coast of Florida is in the forecast path of the large hurricane and some models show the eye coming ashore or brushing the coast, according to the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network.
Hurricane Isaias: How did the storm get its name, and how do you pronounce it?
Strong winds and heavy rain, along with dangerous beach conditions, are possible along coast over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service, Melbourne.
The hurricane service said the eastern Carolinas could feel the effects of the hurricane by early next week, with heavy rains and isolated flash and urban flooding.
Tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch area in Florida beginning Saturday.
Location: 245 miles southeast of Nassau
Maximum sustained winds: 75 mph
Movement: northwest at 16 mph
Next advisory: 5 p.m.
At 2 p.m. EST, the center of Hurricane Isaias was located 245 miles southeast of Nassau.
Isaias is moving toward the northwest near 16 mph, and a generally northwest motion with some decrease in forward speed is expected for the next couple of days, followed by a turn toward the north-northwest.
More: See live beach cams from Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands
On the forecast track, the center of Isaias will move near or over the southeastern Bahamas today.
Isaias is forecast to be near the Central Bahamas tonight, and move near or over the Northwestern Bahamas and be near or east of Florida on Saturday and Sunday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 75 mph, with higher gusts.
Some strengthening is possible today, and Isaias is expected to remain a hurricane for the next few days.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles.
The estimated minimum central pressure is 991 mb.
There is a lot of spread in the guidance beyond that as to what strength #Isaias is at. A more sheared system should be weaker, but potentially could go more west. Regardless if you are in the cone or under a watch (expect more later) you should be preparing for a hurricane. pic.twitter.com/gLhndi9zkf — Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) July 31, 2020
What impact will Hurricane Isaias have on Florida?
Hurricane conditions are possible across Florida over the weekend. The National Weather Service, Melbourne, said impacts to east-central Florida include:
Strong tropical storm to hurricane-force winds will be possible along the coast over the weekend, especially the barrier islands.
Squalls with wind gusts of 35-65 mph possible, with the highest winds near the coast.
3-5 inches of rain, mostly along the Treasure Coast
Dangerous beach and marine conditions are expected.
Gov. Ron DeSantis Wednesday encouraged everyone to prepare by having at least seven days of supplies. #Disaster supply kit checklist
"The U.S. will only get skimmed in Florida and the Carolina coastline with the only possible landfall along the Carolina coast early next week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert said.
"It will be losing wind intensity by that time though, but it still will bring rain, wind and rough surf, especially to the Florida and Carolina coastline."
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller cautioned that people should not focus on just the eye path given the sweeping size of Isaias.
Torrential downpours, gusty thunderstorms and building seas are likely to precede Isaias by as much as 24 hours, which means that tropical storm conditions will spread northwestward across Cuba during through early Saturday and should begin in Miami during Friday night or early Saturday morning.
Hazards affecting land
Storm surge: A dangerous storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 3 to 5 feet above normal tide levels in areas of onshore winds in the Bahamas.
Wind: Tropical storm conditions will continue across portions of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the Turks and Caicos this morning. Hurricane conditions are expected to begin in the southeastern Bahamas this morning and spread into the central and northwestern Bahamas tonight and into Saturday.
Rainfall: Isaias is expected to produce the following rain accumulations through Saturday:
Dominican Republic and northern Haiti: 4 to 8 inches, with isolated maximum totals of 12 inches.
Bahamas, Turks and Caicos: 4 to 8 inches. Cuba: 1 to 2 inches, with isolated maximum totals of 4 inches.
These rainfall amounts will lead to life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides, as well as river flooding.
From Friday night through Monday: South Florida into east-Central Florida: 2 to 4 inches, with isolated maximum totals of 6 inches.
These rainfall amounts could result in isolated flash and urban flooding, especially in low-lying and poorly drained areas.
Heavy rains associated with Isaias may begin to affect the eastern Carolinas by early next week. This rain could result in isolated flash and urban flooding, especially in low-lying and poorly drained areas, as well as isolated minor river flooding.
Surf: wells generated by Isaias are affecting portions of Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas. These swells will spread along the coast of Cuba and into the central and northwestern Bahamas later today and along the east coast of Florida on Saturday. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.