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Last Updated: May 13th, 2009 - 14:38:33 |
Report: US Hate Groups Up 34% Since 2000
A new report says the number of violent hate groups in the US has increased more than 34 percent since 2000. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, 926 groups were active last year, up from 602 nine years ago. The report comes on the heels of a warning from the Department of Homeland Security that right-wing extremist groups are gaining new recruits by exploiting fears about the economy and the election of the nation’s first black president.
Court Rejects Troy Davis Appeal, Extends Stay of Execution
In Georgia, a federal appeals court has rejected an appeal seeking a new trial for the death row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis. Davis was convicted for the 1989 killing of a white police officer. Since the trial, seven of the nine non-police witnesses have recanted their testimony. There is no direct physical evidence tying Davis to the crime scene. And three witnesses claim another man later admitted to the killing. Despite rejecting Davis’s appeal Thursday, the court said it would extend Davis’s stay of execution pending a final appeal before the Supreme Court.
Potential Foreclosures Rise 24%
And in housing news, new figures show the number of Americans facing the loss of their homes grew 24 percent in the first three months of this year. According to RealtyTrac, more than 800,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice from January through March.
Additional Murder Charges Expected in Killing of Oakland Journalist Chauncey Bailey
There are new developments in the case of Chauncey Bailey.
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| Chauncey Bailey |
Bailey is the Oakland Post editor who was shot to death in downtown Oakland in August 2007. He had been investigating possible links between a local bakery and several killings in the area when he was gunned down in broad daylight.
After his death, a group of reporters banded together to continue his investigation into the Your Black Muslim Bakery and to look at any role the bakery may have played in Bailey’s murder and at the role of the police in its investigation.
The group called itself The Chauncey Bailey Project. Since 2007, they have uncovered key elements in the case and have helped to move the investigation forward.
In the latest news that broke this week, the group is reporting that murder charges are now imminent against Yusuf Bey IV, the former leader of the Your Black Muslim Bakery, and another man for Bailey’s killing under a plea deal reached with the only person arrested in the case.
Report: Recent NSA Spying Exceeded Guidelines
The New York Times is reporting that recent National Security Agency domestic spying has gone beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year. The NSA, meanwhile, also reportedly attempted to wiretap a member of Congress, without court approval, on an overseas trip in 2005 or 2006. The plan was ultimately blocked amidst concerns about spying on a member of Congress.
Obama Releases Bush Torture Memos, Assures No Prosecutions for CIA Interrogators
The Obama administration has released four Bush administration memos that gave CIA interrogators the legal basis for torture at Guantanamo Bay and other foreign jails. The techniques described include waterboarding, holding prisoners in small dark boxes, bashing their heads against walls, subjecting them to insects, forced nudity, shackling and sleep deprivation. The memos also include extensive legal arguments as to why these tactics do not amount to torture under US and international law. In an accompanying statement, President Obama said CIA interrogators would not be prosecuted for following the memos’ guidelines.
Report: Somali Pirate to Be Tried in US
CBS News is reporting the lone surviving Somali pirate involved in the kidnapping of an American cargo captain last week will be brought to New York to face charges in a US court. The pirate, nineteen-year-old Abdulwali Muse, surrendered before US Navy snipers shot his three accomplices aboard their boat.
Israel Rejects UN War Crimes Probe
The Israeli government has informed the UN it will refuse to cooperate with an investigation into whether it committed war crimes during its three-week assault on the Gaza Strip. Earlier this year, the UN Human Rights Council named former international prosecutor Richard Goldstone to head the probe.
Report: US Will Impose Two-State Settlement
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Achronoth is reporting, meanwhile, the Obama administration is prepared to force the Israeli government to accept a two-state peace deal. An unidentified Jewish leader quoted White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel as saying, “In the next four years there is going to be a permanent status arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians on the basis of two states for two peoples, and it doesn’t matter to us at all who is prime minister.” The Obama administration has yet to outline whether the two-state solution it favors would meet minimal Palestinian rights. Previous US-backed proposals would have still left Israel in control of the large West Bank settlement blocs on Palestinian land.
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