Stuff YOU Should Know
New Orleans Citizen Cops Recently, many U.S. cities have experienced a shortage of police officers. Some departments have responded to this shortage by relaxing restrictions against tattoos, piercings, or facial hair in order to expand the number of candidates. Other departments have raised salaries, offered extra payments for new candidates, and improved benefits packages. The […]
Congressional Republicans and Democrats Present Plans for Police Reform
George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis began a wave of protests that have swept the nation for the past month. Public outrage over instances of police violence and racial inequality have led many activists and legislators to call for police reform. But Republicans and Democrats differ on what that reform should look like. Here, btw takes […]
Protests Occur Nationwide Following George Floyd’s Death
On May 25, George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while he was being arrested. A bystander video taken while the arrest occurred shows Floyd, an unarmed African American man, being held on the ground by a white police officer. Officer Derek Chauvin restrained George Floyd by pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck to keep […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
George Floyd’s Death Spurs Public Protests Last week, a 46-year-old Minneapolis man named George Floyd was killed by police officers. Floyd–who was unarmed–was handcuffed and made to lie face-down on the street while an officer named Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck. Bystander video of the incident shows Floyd begging for the officer to stop […]
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Kavanaugh Update Recently, btw brought you a closer look at Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s most recent Supreme Court nominee, and the challenges he faced as he began his week of Senate confirmation hearings. Now that those hearings are finished, however, Congress, as well as the American public, are more divided than ever over Kavanaugh’s nomination. Related […]
Anthems, Protests, and Football
Last week, btw took a closer look at the grievance that professional football player Colin Kaepernick filed against the NFL, accusing teams of working together to refuse to give him a contract in order to punish him for performing peaceful protest (“taking a knee”) during the national anthem before games. (Kaepernick, a former quarterback for […]
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Changes for Baltimore Police Department In 2015, Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American man, was arrested by police in Baltimore, Maryland. During his arrest, he sustained a severe spinal cord injury and died while in custody. Six officers were charged in Gray’s death, yet none were convicted, setting off a widespread wave of protests and […]
More Protests in Tulsa and Charlotte
Last week there were more incidents of police officers in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Charlotte, North Carolina involved in the shootings of African Americans suspects. Details of the Incidents In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Terence Crutcher stopped driving his SUV and was approached by police officer Betty Shelby. Shelby claimed later that Crutcher was behaving strangely and was not […]
Tragedy in Louisiana, Minneapolis, and Dallas
In the wake of celebrating our independence and freedom, the nation has experienced devastating news of continued violence between people and police in a few cities around the nation. Here is an overview summary of the facts and some responses to these tragedies. The Victims and the Incidents Alton Sterling Police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana were called to a […]
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Terrorist Attack in Mali Just days after the mass shootings in Paris, terrorists shot and killed at least 20 people in the Republic of Mali in Africa. The Radisson Blu hotel, located in the capital city of Bamako, is near many foreign embassies. On November 20, at least ten gunmen entered the hotel, shot guards […]