The Greene County Democrat

Category: World News

  • Newswire: Civil Rights Leaders 2024 insights on Martin Luther King’s courage

    Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at 1963 March on Washington

    By Stacy M. Brown
 NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    During his short life, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stepped on all kinds of powerful toes in his fight for civil rights, and he was a courageous and determined leader who refused to let prison or violence sway his end mission. He also never lost sight of the fact that civil rights—addressing racial and economic injustice—were inextricable from liberation, freedom, equality, and world peace.
    As the founding leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Dr. King led a nonviolent movement to abolish the triple evils crippling American society: racism, poverty, and militarism. Associates said he believed those forces were contrary to God’s will for humanity and that they could only be effectively opposed by a interfaith-inspired nonviolent, multiracial social change movement.
    On April 4, 1967, King spoke publicly and eloquently against the tragedies of the U.S.-led war in Vietnam. Today, as the nation observes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, civil rights leaders, including those who knew the slain leader, offered their thoughts on what his position might be on conflicts in the Middle East and Russia and on the twice-impeached and four-times indicted former President Donald Trump.
    “At the March on Washington in 1964, Dr. King talked about Alabama Gov. George Wallace having his lips dripping with interposition and nullification,” said the Rev. Peter Johnson, who began working for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in Plaquemine, La., and later was recruited by Andrew Young to work for King in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta. “What’s the difference between George Wallace and Donald Trump? You’re not going to hear Trump publicly say the n-word, that’s the only difference,” Johnson remarked. “King would easily have seen that Trump is a bigot in the true sense of the word who actually believes he is superior to people of color.”
    Johnson, Rev. Dr. Jesse Jackson Sr, Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis Jr, and others said that the wars between Israel and Hamas and Russia and Ukraine would have stirred Dr. King courageously to declare in King’s own words that “An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  Dr. King would again say, “Peace is not just the absence of war; it is the presence of peace.”
    Rev. Jesse Jackson noted that King spoke of a deeper malady in American society. His view was that presidential administrations have been embroiling themselves in conflicts across the globe for the wrong reasons.
    “Dr. King was outspokenly anti-war and anti-racism,” said Rev. Mark Thompson, a civil rights leader who recently joined the National Newspaper Publishers Association as the trade association’s global digital transformation director. “There’s no question King would oppose the war in Ukraine and seek diplomatic solutions. I believe he would also call for a ceasefire in Gaza.”
    “I believe his posture on Congress’s dysfunction would be consistent with the words he used to describe segregationist intransigence in his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech—interposition and nullification,” Thompson declared.
    NNPA President and CEO Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., also an SCLC youth coordinator alum back in the 1960s, concurred. “Dr. King was a nonviolent freedom fighter who believed that we all members of one humanity. His concept of the ‘beloved community’ was all-inclusive and not discriminatory to anyone,” Chavis insisted. “Today’s world realities of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, oppression, war, hatred, and bigotry are void of love for one another. We need Dr. King’s wisdom, inclusive theology, and leadership courage today more than ever before.”
    Johnson said there’s little doubt about where King would stand on today’s issues because the icon never wavered. “I don’t think he would have changed his position fundamentally,” Johnson determined.
    “The Black Press of America, through the NNPA, salutes and pays an eternal salute to the wisdom, vision, and courage of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Chavis declared.  “May the 2024 Martin Luther King National Holiday be a day of reflection, action, freedom movement building, and constructive social change for all people in America and throughout the world.”

  • Full story will be in next issue of the Democrat: Gordon continues annual commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr


    Through the dedicated leadership of Elder Spiver Gordon, Greene County has continued the annual tradition of commemorating the mission and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In recognition of King’s birthday, Gordon schedules programs to lift youth and adult leaders known as foot soldiers and warriors who contributed to the ongoing struggle for civil and human rights. A more detail account of the various 2024 King programs held in Eutaw will be in next week’s edition of the Democrat.

    Top photo shows Gus Richardson leading the march, Monday, Jan.15, from the Unity Breakfast held at Eutaw Activity Center to the William M. Branch Courthouse for the Religious Women Freedom Rally.

    Bottom Photo shows Eutaw Mayor Latasha Johnson bringing greetings.

  • Newswire : Congress working to avoid shutdown inches closer to a deal

    By Stacy M. Brown
    NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Following weeks of negotiations and just before Congress reconvened from its holiday recess, key Senate and House members announced their consensus on setting the total spending at nearly $1.66 trillion. The deal aligns with the agreement struck last year between President Joe Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a deal that faced strong opposition from conservative factions and led to McCarthy’s ouster by MAGA Republicans.
    The agreement includes a boost in Pentagon spending to $886.3 billion while keeping nondefense funding unchanged at $772.7 billion. The figure incorporates an additional $69 billion agreed upon through an informal arrangement between McCarthy and the White House. As a compromise, lawmakers would accelerate $10 billion in cuts to I.R.S. enforcement and reclaim $6 billion in unspent COVID funds and other emergency allocations. The agreed framework does not include the additional $14 billion requested by Senate appropriators from Republican and Democratic sides for increased domestic and military spending.
    “By securing the $772.7 billion for nondefense discretionary funding, we can protect key domestic priorities like veterans’ benefits, health care, and nutrition assistance from the draconian cuts sought by right-wing extremists,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement.
    Describing it as a “favorable arrangement for Democrats and the nation,” Schumer and Jeffries, stressed the necessity for a bipartisan approach in Congress to “prevent an expensive and disruptive shutdown.”
    In a communication to his GOP colleagues, House Speaker Mike Johnson highlighted the Republicans’ achievement in securing spending reductions, particularly the additional money from the I.R.S. He argued that the outcome translates to tangible savings for American taxpayers and genuine reductions in the federal bureaucracy.
    Although Johnson hailed the agreement as a favorable spending deal for Republicans, he acknowledged that the final spending levels “may not satisfy everyone and do not achieve as much spending reduction as many would prefer.”
    Biden acknowledged that the deal “offers a pathway” to fund the government without significant cuts. He urged Congressional Republicans to fulfill their responsibilities, cease government shutdown threats, and allocate funding for critical domestic and national security priorities, including his supplemental request for Ukraine and Israel.
    With the initial deadline for passing four spending bills on Jan. 19, securing an overall agreement on total funding is just the initial phase of avoiding a shutdown. A subsequent deadline for finalizing the remaining eight appropriations bills, including the one for the Pentagon, looms on Feb. 2.

  • Newswire: Black man who spent 44 years in prison before he was exonerated gets record $25M settlement

    
Ronnie Long stands in a hallway at the Albemarle Correctional Institution east of Charlotte, N.C., in 2007.Peter Weinberger / The Charlotte Observer via AP file

    By Minyvonne Burke, NBC News

     


    A Black North Carolina man who spent 44 years in prison after he was wrongfully convicted of raping a prominent white woman has been awarded a historic $25 million settlement more than three years after he was exonerated. 
    Ronnie Long, 68, settled his civil lawsuit with the city of Concord, about 25 miles northeast of Charlotte, for $22 million, the city said in a news release Tuesday. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation had previously settled for $3 million, according to Duke Law School’s Wrongful Convictions Clinic. 
    The clinic, which represented Long, said the settlement is the second largest wrongful conviction settlement recorded. 
    “It’s, obviously, a celebratory day today knowing that Ronnie’s going to have his means met for the rest of his life with this settlement. It’s been a long road to get to this point so that’s a great outcome,” clinical professor Jamie Lau, Long’s criminal attorney, said in a phone interview Tuesday. 
    “Have we found justice in this case? Absolutely not. No amount of money will ever compensate Ronnie for all that he lost, but this is a big step forward for him,” Lau said.
    The city also issued a rare public apology to Long. 
    “We are deeply remorseful for the past wrongs that caused tremendous harm to Mr. Long, his family, friends and our community. Mr. Long suffered the extraordinary loss of his freedom and a substantial portion of his life because of this conviction,” the city said. “He wrongly served 44 years, 3 months and 17 days in prison for a crime he did not commit.” 
    “While there are no measures to fully restore to Mr. Long and his family all that was taken from them, through this agreement we are doing everything in our power to right the past wrongs and take responsibility,” the apology continued. “We are hopeful this can begin the healing process for Mr. Long and our community, and that together we can move forward while learning valuable lessons and ensuring nothing like this ever happens again.”
    Sonya Pfeiffer, one of Long’s civil attorneys, said a public apology was a part of Long’s settlement demand.
    “All of us on Ronnie’s team were very pleased with the responsiveness by the city of Concord. He also got a private apology, a direct apology, which was meaningful too,” Pfeiffer said. 
    Chris Olson, another civil attorney for Long, said the settlement was “significant” and important “after this horror of four decades.”
    Long was convicted by an all-white jury on Oct. 1, 1976, after he was accused of raping a white woman. He was 21 when he was sentenced to life in prison, NBC affiliate WCNC of Charlotte reported. 
    His attorneys detailed numerous issues with his trial, beginning with jury selection. They said that before jury summonses were issued, the chief of police and the sheriff had removed nearly all of the Black potential jurors, his attorneys said. 
    They said there was no physical evidence tying Long to the rape and burglary and he did not match the original description of the suspect — a “yellow or really light-skinned Black male.” A rape kit collected at the hospital and provided to Concord police went missing and has never been found, Long’s attorneys said. 
    They said the prosecution’s main piece of evidence was the victim identifying Long weeks after the attack and it was “the product of a suggestive identification procedure arranged by the police to target Long.”
    There were also numerous pieces of evidence from the scene, including suspect hair and 43 fingerprints, that could have helped exonerate him, according to his attorneys. The evidence, which they said did not belong to Long, was tested by investigators but not disclosed. The attorneys also accused Concord police officers of giving false testimony about the evidence at Long’s trial. 
    The Concord Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. 
    In February 2020, Long appealed his case. That year the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled 9-6 that his due process rights were violated at trial and remanded the case to the district court to decide whether he was innocent, the Duke Law School’s Wrongful Convictions Clinic said. 
    In August 2020, the court overturned his conviction and he was released on Aug. 27, 2020. Gov. Roy Cooper pardoned him four months later, WCNC reported. The following year, the state paid him $750,000. 
    Since his release, Long has put part of his settlement from the State Bureau of Investigation toward helping criminal justice reform, Lau said. He has been “trying to figure out modern society,” according to his attorney, and spending time with his family, including his wife whom he married while in prison, and a son from a relationship before his sentencing. 
    Long and his attorneys hope his case becomes an example of how others should be handled. 
    “One thing he recognizes is that he’s in a position of power now where he’s achieved a record settlement financially so that sets the bar for others,” Pfeiffer said. “If that could be the gold standard for all of these cases, that may be the closest that exonerees get to justice.” 

     

  • Newswire: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin treated for prostate cancer, severe infection: Pentagon

    Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin

    By: Rebecca Piccioto and Dan Mangan, CNBC

    Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized on Jan. 1 for complications following surgery nearly two weeks earlier to treat prostate cancer, doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center revealed Tuesday.
    The disclosure of Austin’s diagnosis and cause of his hospitalization came amid controversy over the Pentagon’s failure for days to inform the White House or the public that the Defense secretary had been admitted to Walter Reed, where he ended up in the intensive care unit.
    Pentagon officials also failed for two days last week to notify Austin’s second-in-command that he had transferred authority to her while he was in the ICU, and while she was in Puerto Rico.
    President Joe Biden only learned Austin’s prostate cancer diagnosis on Tuesday morning, three days after speaking with Austin on the phone, the White House said.
    Hours later Tuesday, the Walter Reed doctors issued their public statement, which is just the latest in a series of surprising disclosures about the Defense chief’s health since Friday.
    Austin is sixth in the line of presidential succession and is an essential player in the United States national security apparatus. His previously secret hospitalization came as the U.S. was weighing and executing several major national security measures, including military strikes in the Middle East.
    Members of Congress were stunned last Friday to learn from a public Pentagon statement that Austin had both had elective surgery, and later hospitalized on Jan. 1 without them being informed at the time. Biden was informed of the hospitalization on Thursday.
    Shortly before Austin’s diagnosis was publicly released Tuesday, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Jack Reed said, “This lack of disclosure must never happen again.”
    “He is taking responsibility for the situation, but this was a serious incident and there needs to be transparency and accountability from the Department,” said Reed, D-Rhode Island.
    The Republican-led House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday opened a formal inquiry into Austin’s secret hospitalizations, saying it had “grave concerns about the handling of your absence and hospitalization.”
    “With wars in Ukraine and Israel, the idea that the White House and even your own Deputy did not understand the nature of your condition is patently unacceptable,” committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Alabama.
    The panel asked Austin for information about any medical sedation or anesthesia he received last week, any orders given to “inform or not inform any other person of your hospitalization or medical condition,” and a detailed account of his transfer of duties to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.
    The statement Tuesday from Walter Reed came from Dr. John Maddox, trauma medical director, and Dr. Gregory Chesnut, director of the Center for Prostate Disease Research of the Murtha Cancer Center.
    The statement said that Austin, as part of his “routinely recommended health screen, “has undergone prostate specific antigen surveillance.”
    “Changes in his laboratory evaluation in early December 2023 identified prostate cancer which required treatment,” the doctors said in their statement.
    Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in American men, occurring at a rate of 1 in every 8 men, and at a rate of 1 in every 6 Black men, the statement noted.
    “On December 22, 2023, after consultation with his medical team, [Austin] was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure called a prostatectomy to treat and cure prostate cancer.”
    Austin was “under general anesthesia during this procedure,” the doctors said. “Secretary Austin recovered uneventfully from his surgery and returned home the next morning.  His prostate cancer was detected early, and his prognosis is excellent. ”
    But on Jan. 1, the doctors said, Austin was re-admitted to the Bethesda, Maryland, hospital after experiencing complications from the surgery, “including nausea and severe abdominal, hip and leg pain.”
    “Initial evaluation revealed a urinary tract infection,” the statement said.
    On Jan. 2, Austin was transferred to Walter Reed’s ICU “for close monitoring and a higher level of care,” the doctors said.
    Biden was not told that Austin was in the hospital until two days after his admission to the ICU.
    “He continues to make progress and we anticipate a full recovery although this can be a slow process,” the doctors said. “During this stay, Secretary Austin never lost consciousness and never underwent general anesthesia.”
    Austin is no longer in the ICU but remains at Walter Reed.
    The new statement is not likely to put an end to questions about Austin’s failure to disclose his condition or hospitalization, which had led to calls for his resignation by some lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Austin and Biden so far have resisted those calls.
    White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said that the president maintains “complete confidence” in his defense secretary.
    But on Tuesday, Biden’s chief of staff Jeff Zients sent a memo to all members of the president’s Cabinet, which includes Austin, notifying them that the White House is conducting a review of protocols by departments for the delegation of authority by Cabinet members.
    Zeints directed all Cabinet members to instruct their agencies to submit their existing protocols to the White House, according to the memo, which was obtained by NBC News.
    In the meantime, Zients wrote, Cabinet agencies “must ensure” that they notify the White House and the chief of staff “in the event of a delegation of authority or potential delegation.”

  • Alabama Civil Rights Museum Movement sponsors activities in Greene County to honor Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday

    The Alabama Civil Rights Museum Movement, Inc., (ACRMM) is sponsoring a series of programs commemorating the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther, King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to Greene County, the State of Alabama, and this nation.
    Mr. Spiver Gordon, ACRMM President, organizes these events each year in celebration and as a reminder of the struggles and sacrifices of so many leaders who brought about civil, social, and economic changes in our lives. 
    The work of Dr. King and SCLC, the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the National Democratic Party of Alabama (NDPA) and others provided the courageous leadership that changed laws and practices on voting rights, holding public office, desegregating public education, public accommodations, and employment opportunities for Black people in particular.  As Mr. Gordon noted: “These rights are still not secured, especially the right to vote.  There are strong movements to diminish those and other civil rights going on right now.”
     The annual events of ACRMM, open to the public, are scheduled as follows: On Friday January 12, 2024, at 10:00 am, the Dr. MKL, Jr. Educational Seminar Student Development Session will be held at New Peace Baptist Church on Prairie Ave., Eutaw, AL.  Greene County High School students are the primary invitees.  Mr. Irene Byrd, Tuscaloosa, AL is the keynote speaker, with special guest, Minister
        On Monday, January 15 at 8:00 am, the MLK, Jr. Freedom Unity Breakfast will be held at the Eutaw Activity Center on Harris Ave., Eutaw, AL, Bishop Glen McCord, Chelsea, Alabama, is the keynote speaker. Special guests, Rev. Dr. Kelvin Cockrell, Hon Garria Spencer, Dr. Monty Thornburg, and others.
    The Freedom Breakfast is followed by the Countywide Freedom March to the William M. Branch Courthouse. Religious Women Freedom Rally, 10:30 a.m. Keynote Speaker, Hon. Phyllis Craig Taylor, Durham, North Carolina. Special Guests, Dr. Carol P. Zippert, Pastor Carolyn Branch and others.  
    There will be a Senior Citizens Luncheon at 1:30 PM, at the Eutaw Activity Center, following the Courthouse meeting.
    Come join us for music, food, and celebration, “We can never let ourselves forget from whence we have come. We must keep the vigil to protect our rights and continue to serve and build our communities,” Gordon said.

  • Newswire : Claudine Gay cites ‘racial animus’ as Harvard’s 1st Black President resigns

    Harvard President Claudine Gay

    By: Bilal G. Morris, Newsone

    Harvard’s first Black President, Claudine Gay, resigned Tuesday afternoon after claims of plagiarism and backlash from a congressional hearing. During the hearing, she discussed the university’s code of conduct policy about hate speech centered around Jews.
    In her resignation letter, Gay said it was an honor to hold the position and seemed saddened by the decision. 
    “It is a singular honor to be a member of this university, which has been my home and my inspiration for most of my professional career, Gay wrote. “My deep sense of connection to Harvard and its people has made it all the more painful to witness the tensions and divisions that have riven our community in recent months, weakening the bonds of trust and reciprocity that should be our sources of strength and support in times of crisis.”
    Gay also talked about the stress of her character being attacked, citing “racial animus” during her tenure as President. 
    “Amidst all of this, it has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor—two bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am—and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus,” she wrote.
    Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network condemned the attacks on Gay and pushed back against hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, who called on her to resign, calling her a DEI hire.
    “President Gay’s resignation is about more than a person or a single incident. This is an attack on every Black woman in this country who’s put a crack in the glass ceiling, said Sharpton. “It’s an assault on the health, strength, and future of diversity, equity, and inclusion – at a time when Corporate America is trying to back out of billions of dollars in commitments. Most of all, this was the result of Bill Ackman’s relentless campaign against President Gay, not because of her leadership or credentials but because he felt she was a DEI hire.”
    Sharpton also announced a picket outside Ackman’s office on Thursday to protest his campaign against Gay.
    “The National Action Network will show Ackman that his attacks on DEI, President Gay, and Black Americans have consequences,” said Sharpton. 
    “This Thursday, our team will picket outside of his office so New Yorkers, his investors, and Corporate America can see Bill Ackman for who he is. If he doesn’t think Black Americans belong in the C-Suite, the Ivy League, or any other hallowed halls, we’ll make ourselves at home outside his office.”
    Dr. Claudine Gay began working at the university in 2006 as a government professor and became an educator of African and African American Studies the following year.
    The university appointed her as a Wilbur A. Cowett Professor of Government in 2015, and she served as Dean of Social Science from then until 2018.
    Gay has also worked closely with Harvard’s previous president, Lawrence S. Bacow, for the past five years.
    According to the Harvard Gazette, Dr. Alan Garber, Harvard’s chief academic officer, will serve as interim presiden

  • Newswire : Health crisis looms: CDC Issues stark warning amidst rising tide of COVID and flu Cases

    By Stacy M. Brown
    NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    A looming healthcare crisis is on the horizon as hospitals and emergency rooms face the potential need to ration care by the month’s end, according to a chilling advisory from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

    The CDC’s latest briefing underscores the swift escalation in COVID-19 hospitalizations, with a particular focus on the surge in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Simultaneously, influenza is gaining momentum nationwide, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continues to pose a significant threat in multiple regions.

    Several reports noted that pediatric hospitals are grappling with a near-maximum patient load, mirroring the levels witnessed this time last year. Emergency room visits for school-age children have undergone an alarming, nearly twofold increase, driven chiefly by a surge in flu cases. The CDC said the spike follows a period of stabilized emergency room figures leading up to Thanksgiving. Strikingly, influenza-related emergency room visits have now eclipsed those for COVID-19 across most age groups, with seniors being the sole exception where COVID-19 rates remain markedly higher.

    Nursing homes also are reportedly witnessing a sharp uptick in reported COVID-19 cases, particularly in the Midwestern region, where infections among residents have already surpassed last year’s peak. The emergence of the JN.1 COVID variant contributes significantly to the current wave of infections, estimated to comprise up to 29% of cases nationwide—a stark increase from 8.8% at the close of November.
    According to the CDC’s projections, JN.1, a direct descendant of the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant, has become the swiftest-growing variant in the United States. While a World Health Organization panel asserts that JN.1’s alterations do not warrant a revision to this season’s vaccines, initial data raises concerns about reduced vaccine efficacy against this variant.

    Despite the situation’s urgency, the CDC said vaccination rates are experiencing an unprecedented decline. Adult flu vaccinations are trailing by approximately 8 million doses compared to last year, and children’s flu shots have dipped by around five percentage points. Bridging this gap is anticipated to be a formidable challenge, according to discussions between vaccine manufacturers and the CDC.

    With only a third of nursing home residents and less than 10% of staff receiving the COVID-19 vaccine this season, Dr. Mandy Cohen, Director of the CDC, expressed deep concern about the sluggish vaccine uptake. Urging healthcare providers to intensify efforts, especially among high-risk groups, she emphasizes the crucial role of vaccinations as the peak of the respiratory virus season looms.

    The CDC emphasized the importance of staying updated on vaccinations against respiratory viruses. Beyond COVID-19 and influenza, a global uptick in pneumonia cases in children is also under scrutiny, officials asserted.

  • Newswire: Democrats push for Thomas’s recusal from Trump case as ProPublica reveals fresh revelations

    Justice Clarence Thomas


    By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    As Democrats intensify their call for Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from the case scrutinizing Donald Trump’s potential immunity, recent findings from legal advocacy group ProPublica have added a new layer of complexity to the ethical challenges surrounding the Supreme Court justice. ProPublica’s investigative report titled, “A Delicate Matter,” revealed that Thomas, previously under scrutiny for failing to report gifts from prominent Republican donors, raised concerns about the financial strain on justices and advocated for removing a law prohibiting judges from receiving speaking and other fees.
    
Hank Johnson, a representative for the House of Democrats, is calling for Thomas’s recusal because of doubts about his objectivity in the case involving Trump’s immunity from federal prosecution. The letter, dated December 15, underscored the Democrats’ apprehension, particularly considering the activities of Thomas’s wife and the couple’s post-2020 election activities, raising questions about the justice’s ability to remain unbiased.
    “Faith in the Supreme Court has plummeted, and fewer than half of all Americans trust the Supreme Court,” Johnson wrote in the letter to Thomas. “Public perception is growing that the Supreme Court flouts the rules, in large part due to your recently reported ties to and luxury travel with billionaire Republican donors that you hid for decades.
    The public pressure has grown so intense that last month the Supreme Court announced a formal, though unenforceable, Code of Conduct.” Johnson reminded Thomas that he also signed the Code, publicly proclaiming that he subscribed to the rules, which state that “A Justice should disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the Justice’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned, that is, where an unbiased and reasonable person who is aware of all relevant circumstances would doubt that the Justice could fairly discharge his or her duties.”
    The Code details such instances, including those in which ‘The Justice or Justice’s spouse… is known by the Justice… to have an interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding; or likely to be a material witness in the proceeding.”
    Johnson then detailed Ginni Thomas’s involvement with the twice-impeached and four-times indicted former president’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and to obstruct its certification—the very conspiracies at issue in this case.
    “Your wife not only attended the pro-Trump rally that preceded the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol, but she was also one of nine board members for a conservative political group that helped lead the ‘Stop the Steal’ movement,” Johnson asserted. “If you want to show the American people that the Supreme Court’s recent Code of Conduct is worth more than the paper it is written on, you must do the honorable thing and recuse yourself from any decisions in the case of United States v. Trump.”
    Meanwhile, ProPublica’s latest revelations amplify the existing ethical concerns surrounding Thomas. The report detailed a 2000 conversation between Thomas and Republican congressman Cliff Stearns, where Thomas expressed worries about the financial well-being of justices. In the discussion, Thomas suggested that one or more judges might contemplate resigning without a salary increase.
    Further, the investigation disclosed Thomas’s lobbying efforts to eliminate a law prohibiting Supreme Court justices from receiving speaking fees. Thomas’ 2000 comments to Stearns, a vocal conservative who’d been in Congress for 11 years and occasionally socialized with the justice, set off a flurry of activity across the judiciary and Capitol Hill. “His importance as a conservative was paramount,” Stearns said in a recent interview, according to ProPublica. “We wanted to make sure he felt comfortable in his job, and he was being paid properly.”
    Worried, Stearns wrote a letter to Thomas after their flight, promising “to look into a bill to raise the salaries of members of the Supreme Court.” “As we agreed, it is worth a lot to Americans to have the constitution properly interpreted,” Stearns wrote. “We must have the proper incentives here, too.”
    According to ProPublica, “Stearns’ office quickly enlisted the assistance of a lobbying firm working on the issue, and he delivered a speech on the House floor about how inflation is eroding judges’ salaries.” Thomas’ warning about resignations was relayed at a meeting of the heads of several judges’ associations. L. Ralph Mecham, then the judiciary’s top administrative official, fired off the memo describing Thomas’ complaints to Justice Rehnquist, his boss.
    “I understand that Justice Thomas clearly told him that, in his view, departures would occur within the next year or so,” Mecham wrote of Thomas’ conversation with Stearns. Mecham worried that “from a tactical point of view,” congressional Democrats might oppose a raise if they sensed “the apparent purpose is to keep Justices [Antonin] Scalia and Thomas on the Court.” (Scalia had nine children and was also one of the less wealthy justices. Scalia, Mecham and Rehnquist have since died.)
    
During his second decade on the court, ProPublica noted that Thomas’ financial situation appears to have markedly improved. In 2003, he received the first payment of a $1.5 million advance for his memoir, a record-breaking sum for justices at the time. Ginni Thomas, who had been a congressional staffer, was by then working at the Heritage Foundation and was paid a salary in the low six figures.
    Thomas also received dozens of expensive gifts throughout the 2000s, sometimes coming from people he’d met only shortly before. Thomas met Earl Dixon, the owner of a Florida pest control company, while getting his RV serviced outside Tampa in 2001, according to his biography, “Supreme Discomfort.” The next year, Dixon gave Thomas $5,000 to put toward his grandnephew’s tuition. Thomas reported the payment in his annual disclosure filing.
    Larger gifts went undisclosed. Crow paid for two years of private high school, which tuition rates indicate would’ve cost roughly $100,000. In 2008, another wealthy friend forgave “a substantial amount, or even all” of the principal on the loan Thomas had used to buy the quarter-million-dollar RV, according to a recent Senate inquiry prompted by The New York Times’ reporting. Much of the Thomases’ leisure time was also paid for by a small group of billionaire businessmen, who brought the justice and his family on free vacations around the world. (Thomas has said he did not need to disclose the gifts of travel and his lawyer has disputed the Senate findings about the RV.)
    By 2019, the justices’ pay hadn’t changed beyond keeping up with inflation. But Thomas’ views had apparently transformed two decades before. That June, during a public appearance, Thomas was asked about salaries at the court. “Oh goodness, I think it’s plenty,” Thomas responded. “My wife and I are doing fine. We don’t live extravagantly, but we are fine.”
    “A few weeks later,” ProPublica concluded, “Thomas boarded Crow’s private jet to head to Indonesia. He and his wife were off on vacation on an island cruise on Crow’s 162-foot yacht.

  • 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.