Episode 51: September 5-11, 2021

September 5-11, 2021

Good afternoon, I’m Dennis Futoryan, and this is the 25th hour, helping you remember everything that happened beyond the 24/7 news cycle. Now, in this week’s news for the week of September 5-11, 2021, the nation commemorates the 20th anniversary of 9/11, de Blasio faces union pushback to his vaccination mandates, but is seeing success for now, Hochul makes her mark being more transparent than the last Governor, and swore in her Lt. Governor, Brian Benjamin, Biden released a new vaccination for private employers, expressing more exasperation on the unvaccinated and trying to move his COVID policies along. Now, onto the show; things may have changed by the time you hear this.

De Blasio

• COVID:
  • With the City’s unions still negotiating exceptions for vaccinations, police officers have to come to grips with the reality that they have to choose either vaccination, testing weekly, or being suspended without pay. The Mayor said that if cops defy their vaccine mandate, he will order the withholding of their wages. 53% of NYPD employees have received at least one dose, compared to 79% in the whole City.
  • The mayor faced an initial setback in his fight with teachers unions in his school vaccination mandates. Mediator Martin Scheinman gave an arbitration ruling that said the Mayor must accommodate teachers’ medical and religious exemptions to getting the COVID vaccines, and that if the Mayor’s not okay with that, the City has to offer teachers either unpaid leave or give them severance pay. In the end, that doesn’t mean just anyone can get a medical or religious exemption approved, as Scheinman clarified those would be strict and hard to come by. Otherwise, those that go on unpaid leave can prove they got their first shot by November 30th. District 37, the United Federation of Teachers and Teamsters Local 237 have a separate lawsuit pending against de Blasio’s mandate in Manhattan Supreme Court.
  • Vaccine mandates were also announced this week against childcare and after-school workers, specifically those that hold contracts with the City. Those workers will have to show proof of at least one dose by September 27th. Vaccination sites will also be available in front of every school all next week in conjunction with the start of the school year, and returning again on October 4th for second doses.
  • A judge dismissed a lawsuit by those challenging proof of vaccinations in indoor settings, keeping the City policy in place that would force businesses to check everyone’s proof of vaccines on September 13th. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lizette Colon found that the policy was not arbitrary and capricious under the City’s administrative law, placing a setback on those businesses that sued against it. Although enforcement begins next week, de Blasio said that he doesn’t to fine violating establishments, instead telling investigators to help businesses set up protocols for compliance.
  • The City’s nearly 300k office workers are back to reporting into their cubicles full-time on Monday, with the obvious blowback already occurring, with workers saying remote work showed a promising future and pointing out that the Delta variant hasn’t gone away. 80k workers have already been reporting into the office on a hybrid schedule, with the full-time plan including workers either getting vaccinated or showing proof of weekly negative testing. Meanwhile, Comptroller Scott Stringer said that he wouldn’t go along with the Mayor’s office plans, saying he’s not going to force his workers to come back into the office full-time.
  • There was a brief scare over a new COVID variant called ‘mu’ which escaped the vaccines mitigating effects, but City health officials are saying that fears of the variant are premature despite it appearing in cases in 49 states, as mu cases have decreased to 1% of cases down from 20% in early June.
• Adams v. Sliwa:
  • While the little-noticed mayoral race continues, Brooklyn Borough President and Democratic mayoral primary candidate Eric Adams stood alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to ask Congress for $5b in funding to combat gun violence, which has picked up in NYC since the start of the pandemic. Adams has made fighting gun violence a central plank in his candidacy, using his experiences as a Black police officer to gain the trust of the electorate. The number of shootings has gone down in August to 167 from 241 in August of last year, but it’s still double the shootings from August of 2018 and 2019.
  • Andrew Yang, however, may not be done with the mayoral campaign. Politico reported that the former presidential and mayoral candidate might be starting a third party at the same time as the release of his third book on October 5th. 
  • Just in time for this reporting, a new report by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU found that the City Board of Elections has “systemic defects,” specifically that it doesn’t train its workers adequately, isn’t transparent about hiring practices, and too many leaders at the top freezing up crucial decisions who can’t be easily removed in the fist place.
  • An analysis done by Politico found that lower-income communities engaged less with the ranked choice voting system in this past NYC mayoral primary than other communities, as whiter and wealthier neighborhoods had a higher chance of participating.
• Schools:
  • With the lack of remote learning still on top of parents’ minds before the start of the school year on Monday, Chalkbeat reported that some parents are boycotting the first day of school in order to make a last-ditch attempt for remote learning’s comeback. De Blasio and Schools Chancellor Ross Meisha Ross Porter have been touring schools in a public marketing campaign, showing off safety protocols such as classroom ventilation and air filters and touting testing and masking rules.
  • Although every student can’t be vaccinated in City public schools just yet, the City continuously expands its vaccine requirements for those students that want to participate in extracurriculars. After announcing that students wishing to take part in PSAL sports have to be vaccinated, now students who want to participate in so-called high-risk activities such as chorus, band, and theater after school have to get their shots, although the policy doesn’t apply to those classes during the school day itself.
  • Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter also mentioned this week that as long as parents aren’t keeping their kids away from getting an education, they won’t have to worry about ACS caseworkers knocking on their door. Parents are worried about returning their kids back into the classroom with the Delta variant.
  • At the same time, the City Dept of Education is planning to spend around $305m to push back against losses in schooling wrought from the pandemic, which includes money for literacy and arts programs, as well as extra classes to catch students up.
• Crime:
  • NYC Corrections Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi admitted that there’s a problem at Rikers, after videos were released showing inmates attacking each other and partying. Schiraldi blamed those issues on broken cell doors, which he says are being fixed. The union said that up to 500 of those doors are being fixed, a huge number potentially allowing inmates free reign throughout the jail.
  • Self-harm is also a big focus in City jails, with news organization The City reporting that internal numbers from Corrections shows 539 self-harming incidents in April and June of this year, the highest in five years.
• Development:
  • The MTA has brought back virtual testimony for their board meetings after requiring that those testimonies be in-person in July, leading to outcry by activists who complained of a lack of transparency. The change came about after Governor Hochul signed a law that granted virtual access to all government public meetings through January 15, 2022, because of the pandemic. However, the MTA did say that the virtual testimonies are not guaranteed to be allowed in real time as their meetings, forcing people to submit their testimonies the day before the meeting itself.
  • Roland Rexha, secretary treasurer for the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, the union representing Staten Island ferry captains and engineers, said this week that low pay is part of the reason the City is finding it hard to hire more workers, as the ferry faces issues providing full service.
• Hurricane Ida:
  • With Hurricane Ida having devastated the City last week, filling up subways and basements with floodwater and taking the City by surprise, Citibike saw an all-time increase in one-day ridership as commuters couldn’t rely on the trains more than usual. 
  • Governor Hochul’s office released a finding that it took one MTA worker pushing a button to cause the subway chaos that went down during Hurricane Ida, disrupting multiple subway lines and stranding passengers for hours. It took two outside engineering firms to conclude a plastic rim preventing an accidental pressing of a manual off switch was missing, leading to the button being accidentally pressed.
  • The Governor also tried her hand in consoling those that lost their homes in the Hurricane when she visited Flushing, Queens, this week. 6 out of the 13 people that perished in the City were from that neighborhood, and the Governor said the state wouldn’t spare any expense to help the community get back on its feet. Hochul announced an infusion of federal aid money, having estimated the City and state incurred $50m in damages from the storm.
  • But while people are taking stock of what they’ve lost, new attention is being paid to illegal basement apartments that got flooded, leading to most of those aforementioned deaths. The NYPD is investigating six incidents where 11 out of the 13 died from the Hurricane in their illegal basement apartments, which could then be referred out to the Queens or Brooklyn DAs offices. The Mayor admitted that he doesn’t have a plan in place to handle illegal basement apartments. City estimates show that there are at least 50k illegal basement apartments throughout Gotham.
  • Even if people didn’t lose their homes through massive flooding, numerous Queens residents were nevertheless sickened with raw sewage that spilled out of the vents on the streets. 
• 9/11
  • With the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the NYPD said they’re treating the day as an elevated threat level, with Commissioner Shea saying he absolutely guarantees the safety of the city. Governor Hochul undercut Shea a bit by saying that people would notice an increased police presence around MTA and Port Authority hubs. President Biden, former President Obama, Mayor de Blasio, and many others filled the area where the Twin Towers once stood to commemorate the solemn occasion, reading out the list of names that perished on that fateful day.
• Macy’s Day parade:
  • The Macy’s Day parade will go on as planned this year, along with crowds of onlookers unless there are some unforeseen circumstances.

City Council

• A new bill introduced by Queens Councilman Francisco Moya in the Council would give hotel workers up to $1k a week in severance pay as an incentive for hotels to open their doors back up to tourists in the City. Workers kicked out of their positions could get $500 a week for the first 15 weeks out of work, which could then go up to $1k for the next 15. The legislation is supported by the Hotel Trades Council, the union representing hotel workers.

Hochul

• COVID
  • With the debate about whether booster shots are necessary and for how many months after someone receives their second shot, Governor Hochul said that a rollout of booster shots will happen in New York generally. The Governor also said that mandating vaccines for students is “certainly an option” as only about 50%of kids between 12-17 are fully vaccinated against COVID.
  • Unemployment is now gone for close to 800k New Yorkers that lost their jobs in the beginning of the pandemic. Biden’s COVID legislation had extended those benefits until September 5th, with no moves from either the federal or the state government to extend those benefits as the economic outlook has become more optimistic despite the spread of the Delta variant. Those who received benefits must not reapply through the state unemployment program, where they’ll receive less money, or no money at all, since the federal programs helped out self-employed individuals.
• 9/11
  • Hochul signed a bill this week specifically meant for 9/11 that would give 911 operators “first responder” status, giving those workers access to government grants and other financial support.
• Environment:
  • The Governor also signed a bill making all car sales after 2035 include only zero-emissions vehicles, in another step for New York’s fight against climate change. Trucks have a little bit more time, with those having to be zero-emission by 2040. 
• Opioids:
  • State Attorney General Letitia James announced another settlement over opioid abuse, securing $50m from the pharmaceutical company Endo International for manufacturing addictive opioids and aggressively marketing them despite there being suspicious orders for the drugs. The money gets added to a $1.5b pot collected from opioid settlements, going to further efforts to stop opioid addiction and overdoses.
• Administration:
  • Lt. Governor Brian Benjamin was officially sworn into his position this week, with renewed attention by news organizations into his financial conflicts of interest. Activists and lawmakers are calling for Benjamin to now get rid of his $85k stock ownership in a high-interest loan firm, NextPoint, which has been sued repeatedly for its high-interest rate loan practices. Benjamin has also faced controversy for having his wedding at a Harlem jazz club, which was conspicuously paid from Benjamin’s campaign account for constituent services at the same time that the wedding was held. The Lt. Governor said that he reimbursed the campaign, and Hochul also insists the situation was investigated and resolved, but key facts are still missing.
  • Governor Hochul said that MTA board member Larry Schwartz will not be part of her administration, vowing to “professionalize” the MTA and the boards of other state agencies. Schwartz had earlier said he’ll do whatever the new administration wants, and you may recall he got in trouble for allegedly asking county leaders around the state for their support for former Governor Cuomo during phone calls which were supposed to be about how they’re vaccinations were going.
  • Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg had some blunt advice for the new Governor Kathy Hochul: Don’t pander to anyone. 
• Cuomo:
  • Investigations are being called for former Governor Cuomo and his spokesman Rich Azzopardi, alleging that Cuomo is paying Azzopardi through his campaign account, with groups like Common Cause New York pointing out that campaign funds can’t be used for personal use. A complaint has been filed with the state Board of Elections.
  • Ethics agency JCOPE is also be subpoenaed in relation to another one of Cuomo’s scandals around the release of his book. State AG Letitia James’ office announced the move, looking for records the Joint Commission on Public Ethics may have held. The former Governor is alleged to have used government staff to help him write his book during the onset of the pandemic.
  • The head of the Human Rights Campaign, Alphonso David, was forced out of the group, after he defiantly refused to resign in the face of allegations he helped cover up for Governor Cuomo when the former Governor was first being accused of sexual harassment. David used to work as a lawyer for Cuomo, who took part in downplaying Lindsay Boylan’s claims when she first divulged them.
• Nassau:
  • The fight continues in Nassau County, Long Island, over $375 payments to those who have experienced economic hardship due to the pandemic, with Executive Laura Curran in a skirmish with her Republican legislature when lawmakers scheduled hearings over the plan. The payments would go to anyone in the County that receives so-called STAR property tax exemptions, potentially allowing anyone making at least $500k eligible.
• Buffalo:
  • Despite being beaten in the Buffalo Democratic mayoral primary, incumbent mayor Byron Brown was allowed to run a write-in campaign, and campaign against his adversary, Socialist India Walton, again this week. The two candidates outlined their differences in policing, the budget, housing, schooling, and taxes.
  • Meanwhile, the Erie County Board of Elections plans to appeal a court decision that allowed Brown on the ballot, despite it alleging that Brown blew deadlines for collecting enough signatures to get on the ballot through a write-in campaign.

State Legislature

• Cuomo investigation:
  • The committee in the State Assembly that was looking into impeaching former Governor Cuomo before he resigned can be done with their conclusory report by October 1st.
• Cannabis Board:
  • Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie chose one of his picks to serve on the newly-created Cannabis Board, the regulatory body making decisions about New York’s marijuana policies, going with Buffalo-area Adam Perry.
  • Meanwhile, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins chose former lawmaker Jen Metzger as her choice for the Board. 

State Judiciary

• Percoco:
  • A state appeals court upheld a bribery conviction against former Governor Cuomo’s one-time top aide Joe Percoco. The 2nd Circuit upheld Percoco’s conviction, along with his co-defendants such as former SUNY official Alain Kaloyeros, who participated in a scheme to rig contracts between bidders and the state’s Buffalo Billion upstate economic development program. Percoco was convicted of taking in $300k in bribes from donors who wanted to gain favor with the former Governor.
• Food delivery caps:
  • A couple of weeks after the City Council passed caps on fees that food delivery apps can charge restaurants and diners, Grubhub, Uber Eats, and Door Dash are among some of the apps that sued the City, saying those caps are arbitrary and capricious, and that capping fees have nothing to do with the pandemic, since the Council passed the law pointing to the public health emergency for expediency. Evidenced by apps charging restaurant owners 30% fees on orders that were sometimes never even followed through with, the Council placed a 15% cap for online orders and a 5% cap for fees on marketing.
• Eviction moratorium:
  • The NY Rent Stabilization Association sued the state for its extended eviction moratorium lasting through January 15, 2022, saying that the state is trying to get around a recent Supreme Court ruling striking down Biden’s emergency eviction moratorium, although the COurt ruled that Congress had the authority to make the call for a federal eviction freeze. 

Biden

Domestic

• COVID:
  • Biden gave a defiant speech this week decrying the continued stubbornness of Americans who refuse to get a vaccine without good cause. Saying that one of the vaccines is now fully approved, he asked them, “what more do you want?” Through the speech, Biden announced that companies with more than 100 employees have to vaccinate their workers or submit them to weekly testing, with predictable pushback from Republicans, who didn’t receive love from the President since he decried their actions banning attempts to mask up students and vaccine mandates.
  • A new CDC study released this week found that those who weren’t fully vaccinated against COVID this spring and summer were 10x more likely to be hospitalized from the virus and 11x more likely to die than their fully vaccinated peers. Another study found that Moderna’s vaccine is the most effective than Pfizer and J&J. A separate study found that the use of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines at 5 veterans hospitals were 87% effective at preventing hospitalizations.
• 9/11:
  • The President took part in various 9/11 memorial events around the country commemorating the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. He went to NYC, the site of the World Trade Center collapse, the Pentagon, where another plane flew into the Defense Department headquarters, and Shanksville, PA, where the last plane flew into a field as its passengers foiled a plot to fly that plane into the Capitol building.
• Schools:
  • The Education Department announced that they are launching an investigation into Florida’s ban on mask mandates, adding the state to a list of five others with similar bans on the books. The agency is saying that the state’s bans are potentially discriminating against students with disabilities, who need protections such as masking to provide them with an adequate education with the return of in-person learning. States led by Republican governors and legislatures are remaining steadfast against forcing kids to mask up in schools, with lawsuits in some of those states pending.
• Texas abortion:
  • Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the DOJ is suing Texas to block their recently passed abortion law, which bans abortions as soon as a so-caled heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as 6 weeks, before women even know they’re pregnant, with the law applying even in rape or incest. Garland, saying the DOJ has a duty to protect the constitution, criticized the law for making fellow citizens be the ones to enforce the law. 
• Hurricane Ida:
  • Biden also visited Queens this week to survey the damage left behind by Hurricane Ida, using the moment to push forward his infrastructure proposals, which would include increased funding for climate change mitigation efforts. He also visited Louisiana and New Jersey to survey damages there.
• Bristol Bay:
  • The EPA announced that it would bring back environmental protections for Bristol Bay in Alaska, which would get in the way of building a gold mine near the largest point where salmon migrate from the ocean to the river. Environmentalists and natives in the area have long said the mine would contaminate the water and fish supply, while the mining company touts its potential economic benefits.
• Energy:
  • Biden called on the US energy grid to rely half on solar energy by 2050, unveiling a plan that would seek to upgrade the country’s solar energy equipment by 2030.
• NASA:
  • NASA announced that one of its Mars rovers, Perseverance, has successfully collected Maritan rock samples, hoping an analysis could tell the story of the red planet’s geologic history and clues about whether water existed or maybe still exists.
• Trump appointees:
  • Biden asked 11 Trump appointees to various military service academy advisory boards to step down this week, or face dismissal. The appointees include Trump’s former Press Secretary Sean Spicer, senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, and former National Security Advisor HR McMaster. Conway said she wouldn’t resign her commission.
• Biden appointees:
  • In the meantime, Biden withdrew one of his own nominees for a position, David Chapman, to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Chapman worked at the Bureau for more than 20 years before he joined an anti-gun advocacy group founded by former Representative Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head in an unsuccessful assassination. Chapman found himself to be the targets of Republican ire due to his past advocacy work.

Foreign

• Afghanistan:
  • In more unwelcome news for Biden revolving around Afghanistan, it turns out that one of the last airstrikes conducted supposedly against ISIS-K in retaliation for the suicide bombing that killed 13 US soldiers actually didn’t kill an ISIS-K member at all, but Zemari Ahmadi, who worked for Nutrition and Education International, a California-based aid group. Evidence gathered by news organizations showed that Ahmadi loaded up his car with water gallons, and not explosives. The drone strike that killed Ahmadi, also killed seven children.
  • A flight that was being blocked by the Taliban carrying 200 foreigners, including US citizens, was allowed to take off this week to Qatar, after the Taliban blocked its departure. There are still up to 200 hundred American citizens still stuck in Afghanistan, according to the State Department, but the number could be higher, as well as hundreds of thousands of Afghan interpreters and their families that were promised passage to America in exchange for helping the US military.
  • Kabul International Airport has returned into service for domestic and international flights this week, although at a limited capacity, and the Taliban announced their first ruling Cabinet, not featuring even one woman, but rather experienced soldiers. The international community is taking a wait-and-see approach to see how the Taliban governs, as it insists it isn’t the brutal regime from the 90s, but protests and other demonstrations have already been met with violence and beatings, and women are hardly seen on the streets anymore.
  • A Morning Consult poll found this week that 58% of Afghanistan veterans supported the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, while 42% did not, while 52% of voters supported the withdrawal. 48% of those veterans also said they were likely to see the 20 year operation there as a success.
• China:
  • Biden talked with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week for about 90 minutes to discuss climate change and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, but also about China’s own hacking operations. Biden is eager to turn the US’ attention away from Middle Eastern conflicts and towards a foreign policy aimed at blocking Chinese aggression.

Congress

Security:

• The Capitol Police are reinstalling a security fence around the Capitol building ahead of a planned rally by Trump supporters coming out to support those who were arrested as a result of the January 6th insurrection, called Justice for J6. Intelligence reportedly suggests that the Sept 18 rally will include right-wing extremist groups the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys targeting police.
• The Capitol Police also announced this week that disciplinary action is recommended for 6 officers who responded to the January 6th attacks, out of 38 internal investigations. None were alleged to have committed any crimes.

House

• 9/11:
  • New York Republican Representative John Katko is trying to do his part for the 20th anniversary of 9/11 by locking in funds for securing the 9/11 Museum in NYC. He’s seeking anywhere from $5-10m specifically for security for the Museum, pointing to the lack of such when he visited the Museum with his family a couple of days ago.

Senate

• 9/11:
  • Majority Leader Schumer said this week during 9/11 memorial events that they’re vowing to fully fund the 9/11 healthcare program, providing benefits to those who were affected by the toxic plumes of the Twin Towers’ rubble. Over the years, almost 24k first responders and survivors started developing cancers due to breathing in the smoke of the destruction, leading to Congress creating the program, but now it needs an additional nearly $2.9b to keep going.
• Klobuchar:
  • Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuach said this week that she was treating herself for breast cancer after being diagnosed in February, but has since received a clean bill of health after surgery last month.
• Human infrastructure:
  • Schumer put his foot down in other news this week. After moderate West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said that there should be a pause placed on Biden’s infrastructure plan because of a confluence of events, Schumer said the chamber is going full speed ahead and rejecting Manchin’s call.

Federal Judiciary

• Apple v. Fortnite:
  • Northern District of California Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers ruled this week in a permanent injunction that Apple had to change its app-store rules, deeming the company’s practices against app developers as anti-competitive when they force developers to only use Apple’s purchasing software. At the same time, however, Gonzalez-Rogers disagreed with game company Epic’s argument that Apple was violating monopoly laws when Apple took action against making the game Fortnite available in its app store.
• House proxy voting rules:
  • House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy requested that the Supreme Court overturn rules that allow lawmakers to vote for each other, called proxy voting, which was instilled in the beginning of the pandemic to prevent multiple people on the legislative floor. Although McCarthy and Republicans have used the rule regularly, he described the move as Pelosi’s “power grab.”
• Florida anti-riot law:
  • U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee blocked a law this week that threatened criminal charges against protestors who were even nearby a violent demonstration. Judge Walker said the law violates the First Amendment for its vague and overbroad language. Governor DeSantis said he’s appealing Walker’s ruling.
• Fruman:
  • Igor Fruman, an associate of Rudy Giuliani’s who was involved in assisting Giuliani try and find dirt on Biden during the 2020 Presidential election, pleaded guilty this week to one count of soliciting political donations from a foreign national. Fruman was set to stand trial for a campaign finance scheme that implicated Giuliani and another Ukrainian associate, Lev Parnas. 
• Execution:
  • The Supreme Court halted the execution of John Ramirez, who was convicted of a 2004 murder, after Ramirez argued Texas was violating his religious rights for prohibiting his pastor from touching him when Ramirez is set to be executed. The Court is set to hear arguments about Ramirez’s appeal in October or November.

National

• COVID
  • A Florida state appellate court upheld Governor DeSantis’ ban on mask mandates in schools for the time being as litigation continues, granting DeSantis’ request to remove a preliminary injunction set earlier. Florida is facing investigations by the Department of Education, as we mentioned earlier. 
  • The school board in Los Angeles, California, the second largest school district in the country after NYC, announced that students 12 and up will be required to get vaccinated, the first school district in the country to mandate as such, affecting 225k students. 
  • In Ohio, a state judge reversed a ruling that would have allowed a COVID patient’s wife to authorize doctors to treat her husband with ivermectin, the latest “miracle drug” being used to treat COVID. Ivermectin is commonly used to deworm horses and is not approved nor proven effective to treat COVID. After Julie Smith for one judge to approve the use of the drug, Judge Michael Oster reversed the call and said although he feels for Ms. Smith, he can’t allow doctors to use any kind of treatment on humans. Smith’s husband had already been treated with ivermectin.
• Robert E. Lee
  • Virginia finally removed its controversial Robert E. Lee statue, which commemorated a Confederate general. After a fight in the state Supreme Court, which approved the removal of the statue, it was removed this week. The statue was the scene of a Neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one person, Heather Heyer, had died, and in which Trump gave his infamous “both sides” excuse.
• Ahmaud Arbery:
  • In Georgia, a former district attorney was arrested in the case of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who was shot and killed while he was just out for a jog. Jackie Johnson, the attorney, was indicted by a grand jury for obstruction of justice and violating the oath of a public officer for delaying the arrests of Arbery’s killers.
• Wildfires:
  • The wildfires blazing through the Western US are breaking records over and over. In California, the wildfires are on pace to burn as many acres as last year, with 4.2m acres hanging in the balance. 
• Texas voter restrictions:
  • After state Democrats escaped to prevent a quorum for a vote on voting restrictions, enough had come back to allow Texas to pass voting restrictions which Governor Greg Abbott signed this week. The law bans 24-hour and drive-thru voting, places limits on mail-in ballots, and gives partisan poll watchers more power to harass election officials who are in the process of counting votes. 
• Britney Spears:
  • Jamie Spears, the father of pop icon Britney Spears, has finally filed a petition to end his role in Britney’s conservatorship, which was put in place 13 years ago, controlling the pop star’s money and affairs. After a movement raised awareness for Britney Spears’ conservatorship, she got herself a new lawyer after discovering that she could, and Jamie Spears’ co-conservators fell off one-by-one.
• MIchael K. Williams:
  • Actor Michael K. Williams, who may be best known for starring as Omar in the HBO show The Wire, passed away in his Brooklyn home this week. He was only 54. The cause of death has not been issued yet, but Williams has been known to battle with drug addictions. 

And that’s it for this week’s show of THE 25TH HOUR, helping you stay on top of the 24/7 news cycle. Don’t forget to rate us on Apple Podcasts, share us with your friends, and subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. You can email your tips and suggestions at the25thhournews@gmail.com and become a Patron today for as low as $2 a month to support the show at patreon.com/the25thhournews! Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next week.