Mother Jones

Thousands of miles away from Minneapolis, hundreds of surfers paddled into the ocean surrounding the Hawaiian Islands on June 5 and sat silently on the waves to honor George Floyd, who had died under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer days earlier.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share

Joe Arpaio, the self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff” in the country, lost a shot at his old job in Arizona’s Maricopa County. The 88-year-old’s defeat in the Republican primary for sheriff—by just a few thousand votes—is his third failed campaign in the past four years; he was bested by his ex-chief deputy, Jerry Sheridan, who will face the Democratic incumbent, Paul Penzone, in the fall.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share

A senior Trump counterintelligence official said on Friday afternoon that Russia “is using a range of measures to primarily denigrate former Vice President Biden” and that “Kremlin-linked actors are also seeking to boost President Trump’s candidacy on social media.”

It’s become a familiar story. The outbreak of the coronavirus in the United States, a public health disaster now responsible for more than 160,000 deaths, has left quite a few of us feeling unmoored.

As the world grapples with the devastation of the coronavirus, one thing is clear: The United States simply wasn’t prepared. Despite repeated warnings from infectious disease experts over the years, we lacked essential beds, equipment, and medication; public health advice was confusing, and our leadership offered no clear direction while sidelining credible health professionals and institutions.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share

On Tuesday, Axios released an interview with President Donald Trump in which he falsely claimed South Korea was lying about its coronavirus deaths, complained that the late Congressman John Lewis didn’t attend his inauguration, and once again crowned himself as the greatest president of all for Black people.

A federal judge in Mississippi published a scorching opinion on Tuesday calling on the Supreme Court to eliminate “qualified immunity,” the legal doctrine that gives police officers special protection from lawsuits when they violate people’s civil rights.

If the current numbers hold, sometime in mid- to late-September, the United States will likely reach the horrific marker of 200,000 people dead due to the coronavirus crisis. No doubt, the media will widely report on this artificial but significant milepost.

There is no more tear gas in front of the White House, where for weeks activists had gathered to protest against racial injustice and police brutality after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police on May 25.

As the world grapples with the devastation of the coronavirus, one thing is clear: The United States simply wasn’t prepared. Despite repeated warnings from infectious disease experts over the years, we lacked essential beds, equipment, and medication; public health advice was confusing, and our leadership offered no clear direction while sidelining credible health professionals and institutions.More | Talk | Read It Later | Share