A grand jury in Louisville found on Wednesday that two of the officers of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) who were involved in the raid that killed Taylor on March 13, Sgt. John Mattingly and Det Myles Cosgrove, were justified in firing their weapons at the time. A third, former LMPD Det. Brett Hankison, "was charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for allegedly firing multiple rounds that tore into a neighboring apartment," the Washington Post reported Wednesday. "A judge set Hankison's bail at $15,000." Did the grand jury make the right decision in this case?
US President Donald Trump "refused Wednesday to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election, asserting that if he doesn’t win, it will be because of fraudulent mail-in voting and not because more Americans voted against him," the Washington Post reported Wednesday. How dangerous of a tone does this set for the country?
"President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that Americans won't be allowed to bring home cigars and rum from Cuba under new sanctions," the Associated Press reported Wednesday. What are we to make of this blatant appeal to Cuban Americans, who are likely to be a crucial factor in which candidate wins Florida in the November presidential election?
"Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has released a report on an investigation into US-Ukraine policy and conflicts of interest," Milwaukee, Wisconsin, outlet CBS 58 reported Wednesday. "The report said there were millions of dollars used in 'questionable' financial transactions between Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, his associates and foreign individuals. Sen. Johnson accuses Biden of not knowing Hunter's connections as 'unbelievable.'" What are we to make of all of this?
"Germany still does not recognise Alexander Lukashenko as president of Belarus even after his inauguration on Wednesday, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said," Reuters reported Wednesday. Will this situation change?
"Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continued his theme of hostile Cold War rhetoric aimed at Beijing in a speech on Wednesday at Wisconsin’s state capitol building," Antiwar.com reported Wednesday. "Pompeo warned a group of Wisconsin state-level lawmakers about the Chinese government’s efforts to influence US state governments." What are we to make of this?
"For the past several decades, the United States has been the world’s leading producer of major weapons systems and the leader in global arms sales," said a Wednesday article in CounterPunch. "More of these sales have taken place in the globe’s most volatile region, the Middle East, than in any other region of the world." While Trump claims he wants to get the US out of senseless wars, American administrations keep the country embroiled in expensive and profitable ones. What will happen next?
Ramzy Bahroud writes in his latest MintPress News article, "Palestine can never be truly understood through numbers, because numbers are dehumanizing, impersonal, and, when necessary, can also be contrived to mean something else entirely. Numbers are not meant to tell the story of the human condition, nor should they ever serve as a substitute for emotions."
Guests:
John Burris - Civil rights attorney
Ted Rall - Political cartoonist and syndicated columnist
Charles Simmons - Attorney, international fellow at Columbia University, professor emeritus of journalism at Eastern Michigan University and co-director of the Hush House Museum & Cultural Center in Detroit, Michigan
Alexander Mercouris - Editor-in-chief of The Duran
Dan Lazare - Investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War"
Danny Haiphong - Author and contributor to Black Agenda Report
Margaret Flowers - Pediatricia n, health reform activist and co-director at Popular Resistance
Medea Benjamin - Co-founder of Code Pink
Robert Fantina - Journalist and Palestine activist
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