Friday, November 19, 2021

Kamala Harris First Woman in U.S. History to Hold Powers of the Presidency

For the second time this year, Friday morning, Vice President Kamala Harris made history.

Harris — who became the first woman, the first person of Black descent and the first person of South Asian descent to inhabit the office when she assumed the role in January — added another first to her list of accomplishments.

During President Joe Biden's routine physical, for around 85 minutes, she became the first woman to ever assume the powers of the presidency.

"She makes history every day," White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who noted that Biden knew he was making long-overdue history with his pick for a running mate, said of Harris, "But certainly today was another chapter in that history. And I think that will be noted for many women [and] young girls across the country."

According to Debbie Walsh, the director of the Center for American Women and Politics, the stint at the top does not count as a woman having served as U.S. president, but it does reinforce that “for the first time a woman is the number one person in the line of succession,” she told Reuters. “It is still not the presidency, that glass ceiling has not yet been broken.”

Biden, 78, underwent anesthesia to receive a colonoscopy at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center during the physical. The White House pre-announced the procedure which triggered the application of Section 3 of the 25th Amendment which gives the president the ability to temporarily transmit the power via a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate.

It was the third time such use had been made of an amendment. The two previous uses came under President George W. Bush.

"As was the case when President George W. Bush had the same procedure in 2002 and 2007, and following the process set out in the Constitution, President Biden will transfer power to the Vice President for the brief period of time when he is under anesthesia," Psaki said in a statement announcing the transfer earlier on Friday. "The Vice President will work from her office in the West Wing during this time."



According to the White House, Biden arrived at the hospital shortly before 9 a.m. local time and formally submitted letters to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., president pro tempore of the Senate, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi informing them of the transfer of power at 10:10 a.m.

Harris, 57, worked from her office in the West Wing of the White House during that time Psaki said until Biden officially resumed his duties at 11:35 a.m.

Following the procedure, Psaki tweeted that the president was, "in good spirits" and had resumed his duties. Harris followed up the historic moment by traveling from Washington, D.C., to Columbus, Ohio, where she was scheduled to give remarks promoting infrastructure deal Biden signed into law by Biden earlier this week.
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Thursday, November 18, 2021

Two Men Cleared in 1965 Assassination of Malcolm X

Photo Credit: Ed Ford, World Telegram  
Thanks in part to a Netflix series, two men who have long maintained their innocence were exonerated over half a century later Thursday in the killing of late civil rights icon Malcolm X.

Convicted in 1966 of the1965 assassination of the former Nation of Islam spokesman at Harlem's Audubon Ballroom, Manhattan judge Ellen Biben vacated Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam's convictions citing evidence from a nearly two-year investigation that began when the Manhattan district attorney’s office reopened the case after Netflix aired the documentary series “Who Killed Malcom X?” in 2020.

"There can be no question this is a case that cries out for fundamental justice," Biben said before making the historic ruling.

“To Mr. Aziz and your family, and to the family or Mr. Islam, I regret that this court cannot fully undo the serious miscarriages of justice in this case and give you back the many years that were lost,” the judge added.

The Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., said there were two grounds for a motion to dismiss the charges: newly discovered evidence and the failure to disclose exculpatory evidence. Because of that there must be one conclusion, "Mr. Aziz and Mr. Islam were wrongfully convicted of this crime."
“Since January 2020, my Office’s conviction integrity team has been reinvestigating this case in complete, open-file collaboration with the Innocence Project and the Shanies Law Office, who are joint counsel for Mr. Aziz and Mr. Islam," Vance Jr. said, adding that the search for the truth was severely impacted by the passage of time as well as all of the eye-witnesses that testified at the trial. Still based on the materials they did have on hand, including some damning reports from the former director of the FBI, the men were unjustly charged.

“What we have obtained now in this reinvestigation are numerous materials that my office tragically did not have in 1965 and thus did not turn over to the defense. Most critically, we have obtained dozens and dozens of reports, from the FBI and the NYPD’s Bureau of Special Services and Investigations. These records include FBI reports of witnesses who failed to identify Mr. Islam and who implicated other suspects," Vance Jr. said. "And, significantly, we now have reports revealing that, on orders from Director J. Edgar Hoover himself, the FBI ordered multiple witnesses not to tell police or prosecutors that they were, in fact, FBI informants."


Aziz, 83, who was released in 1985 was in the courtroom for the verdict and said he did not need the prosectors or a piece of paper to tell him that he was innocent.

“I am an 83-year-old who was victimized by the criminal justice system," he said. "I hope the same system that was responsible for this travesty of justice also takes responsibility for the immeasurable harm caused to me," adding that his wrongful conviction is one “that is all too familiar to Black people”.

Islam, unfortunately, died in 2009 after being released in 1987. Both continued to press to clear their names.

The third man who was convicted along with the duo, Mujahid Abdul Halim – also known as Talmadge Hayer and Thomas Hagan – said he was one of three gunmen who shot Malcolm X and testified at the original trial neither Aziz nor Islam was involved. He was released from prison in 2010.
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Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Rapper Young Dolph Shot to Death at Bakery

Authorities have confirmed that rapper Young Dolph was shot and killed today in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee while patronizing a local business.

Law enforcement sources confirmed to local news outlets, Fox13 and WREG, that Dolph walked into Makeda’s Butter Cookies in South Memphis to make a purchase at around 1 p.m. Owner Maurice Hill said someone then drove up and shot and killed the 36-year-old.
Born Adolph Robert Thornton, Jr., Dolph, was a staple of the Memphis music scene. In 2016 his debut album "King of Memphis" made him a breakout star and his last solo album "Rich Slave" reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in 2020.

Aside from his musical success, Fox13 reported that he was well known for handing out turkeys around Thanksgiving in Memphis through the Memphis Athletic Ministries charity and donating money to his alma mater, Hamilton High School.
This was not the rapper's first brush with death. In September of 2017, he spent two weeks in the hospital after three men confronted him outside of a Memphis hotel. During the incident, a fight broke out, and Dolph was critically wounded after being shot three times. It was the second time the artist was shot that year. In February of 2017, he survived a barrage of over 100 bullets that targeted his SUV outside Charlotte, North Carolina.
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