“A Texas jury awarded nearly $100 million to the family of a man gunned down in his own apartment by a Dallas police officer who thought she was at her own apartment on a different floor. The jury awarded $60 million in punitive damages and $38.6 million in compensatory damages, ruling that Amber Guyger acted with malice or was reckless when she murdered Botham Jean in 2018, KDFW reported. The family had sought nearly $55 million in their lawsuit. Guyger was convicted in the shooting and sentenced to 10 years in prison, as CrimeOnline reported. Jean, 26, was sitting on his sofa eating ice cream on September 6, 2018, when Guyger, still in uniform, entered his apartment. She testified that she shot to kill because she believed she was entering her own apartment — actually on the floor below — and that Jean was an intruder.” (11/20/24)
Yesterday’s fundraiser update thanked supporters WT and DZ for their $35 in donations, bringing our total to $1,927 and leaving us only $748.50 short of our goal.
Nothing’s changed since then — yesterday was a “zero-dollar day.” So no math or “thermometer” updates to look after for me. Easy!
But given our ~5,000 daily readers, of whom less than 100 have supported us this fall, it seems like knocking down that last $748.50 should be even easier! We just need a few more of you to help out at:
“The United States vetoed a U.N. resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the war in Gaza on Wednesday because [sic] it is not linked to an immediate release of hostages taken captive by Hamas in Israel in October 2023. The U.N. Security Council voted 14-1 in favor of the resolution sponsored by the 10 elected members on the 15-member council, but it was not adopted because of the U.S. veto. The resolution that was put to a vote ‘demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent cease-fire to be respected by all parties, and further reiterates its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.'” [editor’s note: No, the US regime didn’t veto it “because” it’s not linked to hostage release. If all the hostages were released, the US regime would still veto anything telling the Israeli regime to do anything the Israeli regime doesn’t happen to feel like doing – TLK] (11/20/24)
“Texas authorities say they are prepared to offer President-elect Donald Trump 1,400-acres (567 hectares) of land along the US-Mexico border to build detention facilities for undocumented migrants. In a letter, the Texas General Land Office said the plot could be used to build facilities for ‘processing, detention, and co-ordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history.’ Trump has repeatedly pledged to deport millions of undocumented migrants and mobilise the National Guard to help carry this out. His plan, however, is likely to face enormous financial and logistics hurdles, as well as immediate legal challenges from rights groups. The letter, published online and sent to Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, notes that the owner of the recently purchased land had refused to allow a border wall to be built there and ‘actively blocked law enforcement’ from accessing it.” (11/20/24)
“Ukraine has fired UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles into Russia for the first time, British media reported on Wednesday, after being given the green light from London. Several missiles were launched against at least one Russian military target, the Financial Times said, citing an unnamed Western official. The Times said government sources had confirmed the use of the long-range missiles for the first time. The report, quoting Russian channels, said 12 of the missiles were fired into Kursk, a border region partially held by Ukrainian forces, on Wednesday afternoon.” (11/21/24)
“U.S. prosecutors have charged Gautam Adani, India’s second-richest person, with fraud over accusations that he and several alleged co-conspirators sought to pay $250 million in bribes to Indian officials. The U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn, New York, accused the executives, most of them Indian, on Wednesday of obtaining funds from investors in the U.S. and other international lenders ‘on the basis of false and misleading statements’ while, authorities say, they bribed Indian officials as they sought billions in solar power contracts. … India’s opposition party has accused Adani of benefiting from his strong ties to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” (11/209/24)
“Sarah McBride, the incoming congresswoman and first openly transgender person elected to the US House of Representatives, on Wednesday shared a statement on social media in response to the House banning trans people from using single-sex bathrooms on Capitol Hill that match their gender identity. … She had initially pushed back over proposed restrictions by saying the argument was a far-right-driven distraction from issues such as housing, healthcare and childcare. But on Wednesday, after Johnson’s announcement, McBride responded with a post on X: ‘I’m not here to fight about bathrooms, I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families. Like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them. This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasn’t distracted me over the last several days.'” (11/20/24)
“The International Criminal Court sentenced an al-Qaida-linked extremist leader to 10 years in prison on Wednesday for war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out when he headed the Islamic police in the historic desert city of Timbuktu in the West African country of Mali. … [Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud] was convicted of torture, religious persecution and other inhumane acts in June. Judges found he was a ‘key figure’ in a reign of terror after Islamic extremist rebels overran Timbuktu in 2012.” (11/20/24)
“Ford plans to cut about 4,000 jobs in Europe, as the carmaker grapples with slowing demand for electric vehicles and fierce competition with Chinese rivals. The US company said on Wednesday the cuts would be in place by the end of 2027 and would affect about 3,000 jobs in Germany and 800 in the UK, representing about 14 per cent of its 28,000 workforce in Europe. The moves are pending discussions with unions.” (11/20/24)
“The UK government is expected to launch a parliamentary inquiry into the roll of social media in summer riots, particularly around the use of generative AI, The Guardian reported. As part of that, MPs (members of Parliament) wish to cross-examine X owner Elon Musk, along with senior executives from Meta and TikTok, as part of a Commons science and technology select committee social media inquiry. … The government is looking into the use of fake images created by generative AI, often containing Islamophobic content, which were widely shared in social media posts on Facebook and X. Such posts may have inflamed riots last August that took place after three schoolgirls were murdered. MPs are also looking into big tech business models that ‘encourage the spread of content that can mislead and harm.'” (11/20/24)
