Greene County Democrat

Category: Community

  • Newswire : Black woman tried to burn down the Martin Luther King Jr. birth home in Atlanta with gasoline, police say

    The Atlanta home where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was born.
    David Goldman / AP file

    By Minyvonne Burke and Anthony Cusumano, NBC News

    A Black woman was arrested Thursday after allegedly trying to burn down the birth home of Martin Luther King Jr., Atlanta police said. 
    The woman, Laneisha Shantrice Henderson, 26, was stopped by two tourists from Utah after they saw her pouring gasoline on the property, authorities said. 
    Henderson was charged with second-degree arson and interfering with government property. She was taken to Grady Detention for a psychological evaluation and will be transferred to Fulton County Jail once she’s discharged, police said.
    The tourists told officers they were on a work trip from Utah and wanted to visit the historical landmark, which is closed to the public. They said they saw Henderson outside pouring liquid on bushes but initially did not think anything of it, according to an incident report.
    The tourists asked Henderson if she was tending to the plants, but she did not answer them. They asked her a few more questions and then noticed that she was carrying a gasoline container, police said. 
    “When they realized what was going on, they started to plead with Ms. Henderson to stop, but she was ignoring them,” according to the incident report. “It also seemed as if she started to rush and pour the gasoline out faster on and around the historical house.” One witness told NBC affiliate WXIA-TV of Atlanta that he stood at the bottom of the stairs outside the home and told Henderson to stop “and blocked her for about a minute, kept blocking her from going up the stairs.”
    Bystanders helped detain Henderson until officers arrived. The witnesses said that while they detained her, she allegedly tried to spark the lighter she was holding, the incident report stated. 
    Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told WXIA that their quick action “saved the jewel of our city.” 
    The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center thanked the people who helped stop Henderson. 
    “Tonight, an unfortunate incident occurred at the birth home of Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. as an individual attempted to set fire to the historic property. Fortunately, the attempt was unsuccessful, thanks to the brave good samaritans and the quick response of law enforcement,” the center said in a post on X.
    The FBI said it was aware of the incident, but could not comment further. 
    The home, which the National Park Service acquired in 2018, is currently closed until November 2025 for extensive renovations.

  • Newwire: FDA approves groundbreaking cell-based gene therapies for sickle cell disease

    Sickle cell disease


    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has greenlit two revolutionary cell-based gene therapies, Casgevy and Lyfgenia, marking a significant leap forward in treating sickle cell disease (SCD) for patients aged 12 and older.
    The approval by the FDA signifies the commencement of a novel epoch in managing sickle cell disease, providing optimism to individuals whose lives have been significantly disrupted by the arduous condition.
    Sickle cell disease, a group of inherited blood disorders, affects around 100,000 individuals in the United States and is predominant among African Americans. Health officials said the root cause of SCD is a mutation affecting hemoglobin, a crucial protein in red blood cells responsible for oxygen delivery. The genetic problem causes red blood cells to have a unique “sickle” shape, which can lead to vaso-occlusive events (VOEs) or vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs), which are very painful and damage organs. The recurrence of these crises poses life-threatening risks and potential disabilities.
    “Sickle cell disease is a rare, debilitating, and life-threatening blood disorder with significant unmet need, and we are excited to advance the field,” said Nicole Verdun, M.D., director of the Office of Therapeutic Products within the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
    Casgevy, a groundbreaking cell-based gene therapy, is the first FDA-approved treatment employing CRISPR/Cas9, a revolutionary genome editing technology. The therapy is for individuals 12 years of age or older who have recurrent vaso occlusive crises. It changes the patient’s hematopoietic stem cells using  CRISPR/Cas9, a technology that can precisely edit DNA.
    
The edited cells are then transplanted back into the patient, enhancing the production of fetal hemoglobin and preventing the sickling of red blood cells.
Lyfgenia is another cell-based gene therapy that uses a lentiviral vector to change genes. The FDA approved it for those 12 years of age or older who have SCD and a history of vaso-occlusive events. Lyfgenia changes blood stem cells to make HbAT87Q, gene-therapy-derived hemoglobin that looks like adult hemoglobin and makes it less likely that red blood cells will sickle. Both therapies utilize the patients’ blood stem cells, administered through a one-time, single-dose infusion following myeloablative conditioning.
    “These approvals represent an important medical advance with the use of innovative cell-based gene therapies to target potentially devastating diseases and improve public health,” said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
    The Casgevy and Lyfgenia applications received Priority Review, Orphan Drug, Fast Track, and Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designations. Casgevy was granted approval to Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Lyfgenia to Bluebird Bio, Inc.
    The FDA said its approval of Casgevy was based on a single-arm, multicenter trial evaluating its safety and effectiveness in adult and adolescent SCD patients. Of the 44 treated patients, 93.5% achieved freedom from severe VOC episodes for at least 12 consecutive months. Common side effects included low platelet and white blood cell levels, mouth sores, nausea, and musculoskeletal pain.
    
Lyfgenia’s approval was based on a 24-month multicenter study, with 88% of patients achieving complete resolution of VOEs between 6- and 18-months post-infusion. Side effects included stomatitis, low blood cell levels, and febrile neutropenia. A black box warning highlighting the risk of hematologic malignancy accompanies Lyfgenia’s label, emphasizing the need for lifelong monitoring in patients.
    
“Today’s actions follow rigorous evaluations of the scientific and clinical data needed to support approval, reflecting the FDA’s commitment to facilitating the development of safe and effective treatments for conditions with severe impacts on human health,” Dr. Marks asserted.

  • Newswire : Harvard president to stay amid outcry over antisemitism testimony

     Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University

    By Daniel Arkin, NBC News

     

    Claudine Gay, the embattled president of Harvard, will remain in the role, the university’s highest governing body announced Tuesday, following almost a week of outcry over testimony she gave at a congressional hearing on antisemitism.
    “As members of the Harvard Corporation, we today reaffirm our support for President Gay’s continued leadership of Harvard University. Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing,” the board said in a statement signed by the college’s fellows.
    “President Gay has apologized for how she handled her congressional testimony and has committed to redoubling the University’s fight against antisemitism,” the statement said.
    Gay became the university’s presidency less than six months ago. She is the second woman and first Black person to lead the Ivy League institution.
    Gay and her counterparts at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology drew fierce criticism after they appeared at a House hearing last week and seemed to dodge a question of whether students calling for the genocide of Jews should be punished.
    In a contentious exchange with Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Gay said “that type of speech is personally abhorrent to me” and “at odds with the values of Harvard.”
    Stefanik then pressed Gay: “Can you not say here that it is against the code of conduct at Harvard?”
    Gay did not answer directly, saying in part: “We embrace a commitment to free expression even of views that are objectionable, offensive, hateful — it’s when that speech crosses into conduct that violates our policies against bullying, harassment, intimidation.”
    In an interview with the Harvard Crimson student newspaper published Friday, Gay apologized for her remarks and said in part: “I got caught up in what had become at that point, an extended, combative exchange about policies and procedures. I failed to convey what is my truth,” she said.
    The presidents’ testimony went viral on social media and drew condemnation from the White House, lawmakers, Jewish community advocates, alumni and donors. The backlash has been driven in part by Stefanik and billionaire investor Bill Ackman.
    The furor thrust Harvard into crisis, and demands that Gay leave her job seemed to gain steam over the weekend after Penn President Liz Magill stepped down. Magill had drawn scrutiny for responding to Stefanik’s line of questioning in similarly legalistic terms.
    However, Gay received support Monday from a large group of Harvard professors and alumni. More than 700 members of the faculty, including the constitutional law scholar Laurence Tribe, signed a letter urging administrators to resist calls for Gay’s removal.
    “We … urge you in the strongest possible terms to defend the independence of the university and to resist political pressures that are at odds with Harvard’s commitment to academic freedom, including calls for the removal of President Claudine Gay,” they said in the letter.
    “The critical work of defending a culture of free inquiry in our diverse community cannot proceed if we let its shape be dictated by outside forces,” the letter went on to say. NBC News obtained the text of the letter from history professor Alison Frank Johnson, one of the faculty members spearheading the effort.
    In a separate letter, the executive committee of the Harvard Alumni Association said it “unanimously and unequivocally” backed Gay. “We have full confidence in her leadership during this difficult time,” the committee members wrote.
    The news that Gay would remain in her office was first reported by the Crimson, citing an unnamed source familiar with the decision.

  • Newswire : Biden announces $4.8 billion in Student Loan Debt Forgiveness for 80,300 Borrowers

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    On Wednesday, Dec. 6, the Biden administration declared that it would erase an extra $4.8 billion of 80,300 students’ student loan debt. The U.S. Department of Education’s adjustments to its Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and income-driven repayment plans have resulted in the alleviation.
    U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona stated in a statement that “before President Biden took office, it was virtually impossible for eligible borrowers to access the student debt relief they rightfully earned. “This level of debt relief is unparalleled, and we have no intention of slowing down,” Cardona said.
    Approximately $2 billion of the assistance will be allocated to almost 46,000 individuals who are currently participating in income-driven repayment programs. According to experts, loan servicers frequently neglected to monitor borrowers’ payments, resulting in the failure of the intended debt forgiveness schemes after a specified time frame.
    The U.S. Department of Education announced that 34,400 debtors who have been in public service for ten years or longer will be granted loan cancellation of $2.6 billion. Participants in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program have had difficulties in obtaining the promised debt cancellation due to inaccuracies in their payment calculations and other related problems.
    The Biden administration has recently eliminated around $132 billion in student debt for over 3.6 million American individuals. The Biden-Harris campaign expects their relentless pursuit of forgiving student loans will aid them in the polls as voters support measures that forgive student debt by a 2-to-1 margin.
    Despite the Supreme Court striking down the administration’s earlier plan to offer as much as $20,000 in loan forgiveness to borrowers, Biden has relentlessly pursued other avenues to meet his campaign promise.
    “From Day One of my Administration, I vowed to improve the student loan system so that a higher education provides Americans with opportunity and prosperity – not unmanageable burdens of student loan debt.  I won’t back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams,” the president insisted.
    Biden said the relief is courtesy of his administration’s efforts to fix Public Service Loan Forgiveness, so teachers, members of the military, nurses, and other public service workers receive “the relief they have earned.”
    “And it’s because of actions my administration took to make sure that borrowers who have been in repayment for at least 20 years – but didn’t accurately get credit for student loan payments – get the relief they are entitled to,” Biden asserted, noting that the latest move brings the total debt cancellation his administration has approved to $132 billion for over 3.6 million Americans through various actions.
    “Today’s announcement comes on top of all we’ve been able to achieve for students and student loan borrowers in the past few years,” Biden stated.  “This includes achieving the largest increases in Pell Grants in over a decade to help families who earn less than roughly $60,000 a year; fixing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program so that borrowers who go into public service get the debt relief they’re entitled to under the law; and creating the most generous Income-Driven Repayment plan in history – the SAVE plan.
    “Borrowers can go to studentaid.gov to apply. And, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on our student debt relief plan, we are continuing to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible.”

  • Newswire: U.S. casts sole vote at UN Security Council against Gaza ceasefire

    UN Security Council meeting

    Dec. 11, 2023 (GIN) – A resolution that would have demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza failed to pass by one vote – that of the U.S. – in the U.N.’s Security Council at a special meeting called Saturday by the Secretary General.
     
    It was the sixth meeting of the Council to discuss temporary stops to the fighting since war started in October but it has succeeded only once.
     
    Saturday’s resolution won support from all 13 Council members, including three permanent members (China, France and the Russian Federation), all three members from African nations, with one permanent member (United Kingdom) abstaining.
     
    Presented by the United Arab Emirates, the resolution would have also demanded immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access.
     
    Sec’y General Antony Guterres said he called the special meeting by invoking Article 99 of the Charter of the United Nations, “because we are at the breaking point.”
     
    “There is a high risk that the total collapse of humanitarian systems could have devastating consequences,” he said. “The threat to the safety and security of U.N. staff is unprecedented. More than 130 of my colleagues have already been killed, many with their families. This is the largest single loss of life in the history of our organization.”
     
    Article 99 enables the U.N. chief to call the Security Council on any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance on international peace and security. 
     
    The resolution presented by the United Arab Emirates was co-sponsored by some 97 member states within 24 hours, said Mohamed Issa Abushahab (UAE).
     
    The text was rushed to the floor after 63 days of conflict and more than 18,000 people killed. 
     
    Carolyn Abena Anima Oppong-Ntiri of Ghana, one of the three African delegates, explained her vote addressing the quickly deteriorating situation in Gaza. She urged the Council to “act as an honest broker for the peaceful settlement of the Israel-Palestinian question based on the two-state solution.”
     
    Michel Xavier Biang representing Gabon said his delegation voted for the ceasefire due to a sense of responsibility to put an end to the bloodbath. “We are very clear that we want an immediate ceasefire,” he said decisively to a scrum of UN reporters.
     
    As talks at the Climate Summit enter their final stage, negotiators remain far apart on the future role of fossil fuels. Oil producer group OPEC  headed by Saudi Arabia, along with Russia and others oppose any language targeting fossil fuels in a final document while China’s top climate envoy, said on Saturday that a deal can only be considered a success if it includes an agreement on fossil fuels. He called this the hardest climate summit of his career.
     
    Without an agreement among the members on Sunday, negotiators will have just one full day to resolve differences ahead of the conference’s scheduled end on Tuesday before noon.
     
    “It’s getting close to the end point, so that new text really has to find areas of convergence that’s much beyond where we are right now,” said Rachel Cleetus, policy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
     
    Targets of the conference currently include tripling renewable energy and nuclear power deployments, slash coal use, and curb emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane.
     
    If honored, these targets could lower global-energy related greenhouse gas emissions by 4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2030 – a number that  represents only about a third of the emissions gap that needs to be closed in the next six years to limit warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels as agreed to in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
     

  • Eutaw City Council meets on Nov. 28, 2023 opens bids for restroom repairs

    The Eutaw City Council met for its regular second meeting of the month on Tuesday, November 28, 2023. The Mayor and four council members: Jacqueline Stewart, Tracey Hunter, Valerie Watkins, and Larrie Coleman, were present.

    Joe Powell, Assistant City Clerk, opened bids for repair of two rest rooms at the Robert H. Young Community Center (former Carver School).
    There were two bids, and the Council awarded the bid to M&H Construction Company for $17,500. He also opened bids for repair of one rest room at the National Guard Armory. M&H Construction was again the low bidder at $7,500 for this work.

    The Council asked the Mayor and staff to carefully check the bonding and insurance qualifications of the low bidder to make sure they were in compliance with the bid requirements and specifications before award the bids.

    The Council also approved advertising for sale of a used Greyhound bus using the city’s website, to determine if there is any interest in purchasing this surplus item.

    The Council tabled a sale of land on Boligee Street to the Greene County Commission, for construction of a water park. There were questions about the nature of the proposed water park and the inclusion of a redemption clause in the sale if the project is not built within a reasonable period of time.

    An offer of $6,000 from Freedom Rock Church to purchase four acres of city owned land, was rejected by the Council for being below the fair market value of the land. The church proposed to purchase land on the Lock 7 Road, near the City Park, for construction of a church and community building. The Mayor said, “We are supportive of building the church and community facilities, but we want them to pay a fair price We will try to get an appraisal to show the fair market value of the land.”

    The Council, which has vacated the District 2 seat of LaJeffrey Carpenter, agreed that December 6 was the deadline for residents of the district to send a letter of interest in the position; and that the Council will interview applicants on December 11 for the position, so an appointment can be made, and the position filled at the December 12 next regular meeting of the Council.

    The Council received several financial reports from Financial Adviser Ralph Liverman on the status of city bank accounts. They also voted to pay bills that had been processed by staff for payment.

    In the public comments section, there were several comments from residents, including Faye Tyree and Vivian Carpenter that the City of Eutaw was not moving forward as quickly as they wished.

  • Greene County School Board

    School Board Meeting Announcement

    The Greene County Board of Education will meet in regular session Monday, December 11, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. at the Central Office in Eutaw, Alabama.  

    Citizens attending must wear appropriate masks and sit at least six feet apart. Therefore, the number of people who can attend will be limited.

  • US lawmakers push for federal holiday honoring Rosa Parks on the anniversary of her arrest

    RIKKI KLAUS, CNN

    Rosa Parks’ refusal to move to the segregated section of the bus sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement.

    Gene Herrick/AP
    On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a city bus after work in Montgomery, Alabama, and sat down.
    As the bus filled with passengers, the driver demanded the 42-year-old seamstress move further back into the segregated Black section of the bus so a White man could have her seat.
    Parks famously refused.
    She was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. But that bold decision is widely credited with launching the Montgomery Bus Boycott and ultimately the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.
    This week, members of the Congressional Black Caucus marked the 68thanniversary of Rosa Parks’ arrest by urging Congress to support a bill that would declare December 1, “Rosa Parks Day,” a federal holiday.
    “This is not just about Black history. It’s about American history,” said Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell at a news conference Wednesday.
    Sewell, an Alabama Democrat, introduced H.R. 308 which would establish the federal holiday, in January. The bill is backed by 31 co-sponsors, all of whom are members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
    “I know that all of us, this whole nation, has benefited from the courage and bravery of this one woman,” Sewell said.
    The proposed holiday, Sewell added, would ensure Parks’ sacrifice is remembered. It would also establish the first federal holiday honoring a woman, according to the lawmakers.
    “By simply refusing to give up her seat, Rosa Parks stood up for the values that this nation holds dear. With her quiet, dignified courage, she took a stand against a city steeped in segregation, and in doing so, she sparked the beginning of a movement that changed the very fabric of our nation,” she said.
    Parks’ defiance sparked the 13-month Montgomery Bus Boycott, which was organized by Martin Luther King Jr. The nonviolent mass protest ended with the Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses is unconstitutional.
    “Rosa Parks is a martyr for equality, an icon to all, a crusader for justice. And truly, she was a phenomenal Black woman whose legacy should be revered as a hero in American history books and well beyond our borders,” Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty said at the news conference.
    “It is past time to give Rosa Parks the national recognition she deserves.”
    Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford, a Democrat who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, said the bill is important, particularly amid what he described as “the rise in efforts to erase and rewrite history – Black history.”
    “That is why it’s important for us to reclaim our history, to honor our history, to promote our history,” he said.
    Sewell said she wants both Republicans and Democrats to back the bill. She said she hopes personal discussions with colleagues and speaking on the House floor about the significance of Rosa Parks Day will help move the legislation forward.

  • Newswire: Sewell supports extension of bilateral pause in Israel-Palestine war

    Congresswoman Terri Sewell at Congressional hearing

    By: Patrick Darrington, Alabama Political Reporter

    U.S. Congresswoman Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Selma, has signed onto a letter calling for a bilateral ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine war.
    Rep. Troy Carter, D-LA led the letter, and it calls on President Joe Biden to use his power to broker a bilateral ceasefire as Israel continues its offensive in Gaza. Along with Sewell, 10 other Democratic House members also signed onto the letter. 
    Sewell’s communication director, Christopher Kosteva, talked to APR and clarified Sewell’s position. According to Kosteva, Sewell believes in a bilateral pause that would lead to a bilateral ceasefire. The congresswoman does not believe in a unilateral ceasefire on the part of Israel or calls for Israel to stop fighting Hamas without a bilateral deal. 
    Sewell supports Israel’s “right to self-defense” against Hamas, Kosteva stated. Sewell is the first, and only, Alabama congressperson to publicly support a call for a pause or potential ceasefire of any kind. 
    “This pause in violence is set to expire tomorrow, and it is our fervent hope that negotiations can continue and extend the current pause in hostilities and continue the release of those held hostage by Hamas,” the letter to Biden read. “We urge you to use your immense influence and the full power of your office to continue negotiations and extend the bilateral pause beyond tomorrow so that both sides can build towards a bilateral ceasefire and, ultimately, a two-state solution.”
    On Nov. 23 a temporary ceasefire was agreed to that halted the bombing and fighting so that a hostage exchange could take place between Israel and Hamas. The ceasefire was extended until two days ago as negotiations fell apart and Israel has resumed its bombing campaign. 
    Despite the Biden administration claiming to be using its power behind the scenes to fuel an extended pause in fighting and stress civilian casualties, they continue to supply Israel with more arms and weapons.

    On Oct. 7, the militant wing of Hamas launched an attack on Israel that killed hundreds of civilians including women and children. The approximate death toll is around 1,200 and Hamas has been accused of committing war crimes during the attack. 
    Since Israel’s indiscriminate bombing campaign began in Gaza over 15,200 Palestinian people have been killed including 6,150 children. Hospitals, schools, refugee camps and ambulances have been deliberately targeted with airstrikes by Israel. Israel has been accused by human rights organizations of committing collective punishment, a war crime.

    WVTM reported, a few days prior to Sewell signing onto the letter, that students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham were calling for the congresswoman to support a permanent ceasefire during a temporary pause in fighting. Included in the article is a Palestinian student, Rozana Kafineh, who said she was heartbroken to see her country go through the war. 
    “A temporary [ceasefire is not enough],” Abdo Mutlaq told WVTM. “You can pause a video game. You can pause the video, but you can’t pause genocide.”
    The full letter can be read on line.

  • Newswire : Former GOP rep, Liz Cheney, calls Trump ‘the most dangerous’ President ever

    Cover of Liz Cheney’s book


    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Donald Trump is “the most dangerous man ever to inhabit the Oval Office,” and a large swath of Republicans have proven that they’re nothing more than enablers and collaborators willing to “violate their oath to the Constitution out of political expediency and loyalty” to the twice-impeached former president.
    That scathing assessment, first reported by CNN, came from former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, who has penned “Oath and Honor,” a detailed exposé about Trump’s four years in the White House and how many of her colleagues cowered to the whims of an out-of-control wannabe dictator.
    Cheney appeared to have left no stone unturned in the memoir that hits shelves on Dec. 5, including her takedown of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his successor, Mike Johnson. Of McCarthy, Cheney said he knew Trump lost the 2020 election to President Biden but went along with Trump’s lies. She referred to Johnson as a fanboy who “appeared especially susceptible to flattery from Trump and aspired to being anywhere in Trump’s orbit.”
    Trump currently faces 91 felony counts in four jurisdictions; much of the charges stem from his alleged attempt to steal the 2020 election. Earlier this year, a civil jury found him responsible for sexually assaulting the writer, E. Jean Carroll. Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $5 million in damages.
    Despite four indictments, his loss in the sexual assault civil trial, and his promise of retribution against his political enemies, Trump is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Several polls also show him leading Biden in the general election.
    “As a nation, we can endure damaging policies for a four-year term,” Cheney declared. “But we cannot survive a president willing to terminate our Constitution.”
Cheney’s 384-page “Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning” is already the top-selling book on Amazon.com. In one passage, Trump is referred to as “Orange Jesus,” a term regularly used by Black Press journalist Barrington Salmon to deride the former president. Using text messages, emails, calls, and meetings, as well as personal conversations, Cheney rails against her GOP colleagues and reams them for being complicit in threats against democracy.
    “So strong is the lure of power that men and women who had once seemed reasonable and responsible were suddenly willing to violate their oath to the Constitution out of political expediency and loyalty to Donald Trump,” Cheney writes in the book, which hits shelves on Dec. 5.
Cheney unveils a hitherto undisclosed conversation with McCarthy, happening a mere 48 hours after the ballots were cast, where McCarthy spilled the beans that he had a tête-à-tête with Trump. According to the book, McCarthy spilled, “He knows it’s over… He needs to go through all the stages of grief.” Cheney dryly muses that, in Trump’s world, those stages appear to involve “tweeting in all caps.”
    When McCarthy declared on Fox News that “President Trump won this election,” Cheney notes, “McCarthy knew that what he was saying was not true.” The book further uncovers how other Republicans, like House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, brushed aside legal processes in a GOP conference call, with Jordan underscoring, “The only thing that matters is winning.”
    Cheney also took shots at Johnson, narrating how he pressed Republicans to back an amicus brief challenging the election result. Despite highlighting flaws in the legal arguments, Johnson reportedly insisted, “We just need to do this one last thing for Trump.”
    Before Trump’s followers stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Cheney described a scene in the GOP cloakroom where members signed electoral vote objection sheets, acknowledging that most were aware it was a “farce” and merely a symbolic gesture of allegiance to Trump. Republican Congressman Mark Green reportedly quipped, “The things we do for the Orange Jesus.”
    Cheney accuses McCarthy of repeated falsehoods and a “craven” embrace of Trump, detailing his post-Jan. 6 visit to Mar-a-Lago. McCarthy claimed Trump’s staff summoned him, citing concerns about Trump’s well-being. Cheney incredulously responded, “You went to Mar-a-Lago because Trump’s not eating?”
    Cheney revealed her unintentional inclusion in a White House surrogate call on Jan. 4, where Trump allies mapped out plans to overturn the election through Pence. She left with a “terrible feeling,” unsure if Pence would withstand the pressure, disclosing that Paul Ryan also harbored doubts.
    
Despite warnings from her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, about her safety on Jan. 6, Cheney remained unwavering. She voted for impeachment on Jan. 13, receiving private support from former President George W. Bush, who hailed her courage.