Beyoncé demands justice for Breonna Taylor in open letter to Kentucky attorney general: 'Demonstrate the value of a black woman’s life'

Though many have complained that the death of Breonna Taylor,  the 26-year-old EMT worker fatally shot on March 13 by officers from Kentucky’s Louisville Metro Police Department serving a “no-knock” search warrant to her home as she slept, has long been overlooked, her family now have a powerful new ally: Beyonce.

On Sunday, the singer — who last week said the deaths of Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery,      had “left us all broken” during  her address to graduates for Youtube's Dear Class of 2020''  livestream — shared an open letter she’s written to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron demanding justice for her family, who have “not been able to take time to process and grieve.”

In the letter posted on her website,  the “Freedom” singer noted that three months have passed since Taylor’s death — and “zero arrests have been made, and no officers have been fired,” a reference to the three policemen, officers Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankinson and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who fired into her apartment. According to a lawsuit filed by Taylor’s family, the officers shot 20 rounds into the home — eight striking an unarmed Taylor as she slept — as they exchanged gunfire with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who has said he took them to be intruders.

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FG to Nigerians: COVID-19 battle now in your hands

The battle to contain the spread of coronavirus pandemic and stay alive is now an individual responsibility, which Nigerians must take seriously, the Federal Government said on Monday.

Nigerians, the government noted, have a choice to take responsibility by obeying the measures and guidelines developed to fight the pandemic or end up in any of the treatment centres for Covid -19 patients.

The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said this on Monday.Mustapha said that Nigerians are the ones that can work assiduously to ensure that the level of transmission of the virus is reduced.

He lamented that many Nigerians have refused to take personal responsibility following the easing of the lockdown by the federal government.

He said: “If you listen to me conscientiously in the past four weeks I have spoken about personal responsibility, that it is our responsibility. We are not your front liners anymore. The choice of whether you will get to the hospital is yours.

“You, my fellow people, you are your last liners now. What you do, what you say, your actions, will determine where you will end.

“We have gotten to a stage where no amount of enforcement will cut this tool for us. It is the choices that we make that will determine what will happen. The governments of subnational will try to do their best but it is the choices of the people that will determine how effective that will be.

The Nation

FG sanctions airline, pilot for flying Naira Marley

The Federal Government has suspended Executive Jets Services for flying popular musician Azeez Fashola popularly known as Naira Marley contrary to the approval it was granted.

Naira Marley was flown from Lagos to Abuja by the airline despite COVID-19 restrictions after approval of aviation authorities.

But the Federal Government explained the flight was meant to fly in Hon. Justice Adefope Okojie from Lagos to Abuja and back to Lagos and not the musician.
The musician featured and entertained fun-seekers at the Jabi Lake Mall in Abuja over the weekend.

The musician flew from Lagos to Abuja despite the ban on interstate movements and flights.

Speaking on Monday at the daily briefing by members of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika announced suspension of the operation of Executive Jets Service indefinitely for the infraction.

The minister also said the captain who operated the flight would be sanctioned for misleading the control tower.

source: The Nation

Naira Marley’s Chartered Flight approved for Judge – FG

The Chartered flight that conveyed popular musician Azeez Fashola popularly known as Naira Marley to Abuja was approved for a judge.

It said the flight was actually approved for a Lagos High Court Judge, Justice Adefowope Okojie.

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who stated this during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, said the aviation authorities approved the flight on June 14 having considered the judge to be on essential duties.He said he was surprised the flight, which was to take off on June 14 and convey the Judge took off from the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos for the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja on July 13 at 6.00 p.m.

According to him: “We wrote a letter approving the chartered flight for Justice Adefowope Okojie and we approved the flight for June 14. We were therefore surprised that the flight took off on June 13 and also surprised at the passengers.”

He said investigation was ongoing to know the pilot of the plane and those aviation officials who were around when the flight took off in Lagos and landed in Abuja.

source: The Nation

LGBTQ Employees Are Protected By Civil Rights Employment Statutes- US Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ employees from being discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The court on Monday issued opinions on two major decisions with far-reaching implications for the civil rights of transgender and LGBTQ individuals.

It was a 6-3 ruling, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Neil Gorsuch joining the four liberal justices in the majority. 

Writing for the majority, Gorsuch argued that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is fundamentally no different than discrimination based on sex.

“An individual’s homosexuality or transgender status is not relevant to employment decisions,” Gorsuch wrote. “That’s because it is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex.”

“We agree that homosexuality and transgender status are distinct concepts from sex,” he added later. “But, as we’ve seen, discrimination based on homosexuality or transgender status necessarily entails discrimination based on sex; the first cannot happen without the second.”

The rulings rest on a pair of arguments the court heard in October in which justices considered whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal law that prohibits workplace discrimination, applies to LGBTQ and transgender workers. 

While Title VII bars discrimination on the basis of “race, color, national origin, sex, and religion,” the original bill didn’t define “sex” as a term. The Trump administration used that ambiguity to argue that lawmakers’ original intent focused solely on protecting women’s rights and, therefore, shouldn’t be extended to include sexual orientation or gender identity.

source:huffpost

God will expose all rapists – Adeboye

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, says he and his prayer warriors will not rest in prayers until the perpetrators of rape are accorded stiffer penalty.

Adeboye said during a live programme on DOVE TV, monitored in Ibadan on Sunday, that the issue of rape had become rampant in the society.

He described rape as bad and unbiblical that it could leave a permanent scare on the victim for the rest of her life.

According to him, there is no pain that can be compared to the pain on the parents whose daughter had been raped.

“Myself and prayer warriors will not rest in prayers until the perpetrators of this evil are brought to justice, not only in Nigeria but all over the world.

The Nation

Lawmakers accuse UK tabloid of glorifying domestic abuse after front-page interview with J.K. Rowling's ex-husband

Britain's biggest-selling tabloid newspaper, The Sun, has been accused of glorifying domestic violence, after it ran an interview with the ex-husband of author J.K. Rowling on its front page under the headline: "I slapped JK and I'm not sorry."

Politicians and charities have expressed outrage at the paper, which featured a doorstep interview with the Harry Potter's author first husband in which he refused to apologize for slapping her.

Source: CNN