National

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky) has introduced a bill that would ban law enforcement from conducting “no knock” warrants.

Titled the “Justice for Breonna Taylor” Act, the legislation mandates that law enforcement announce themselves before forcing their way into someone’s home. According to the wording of the bill, police cannot enter a private domicile “until after the officer provides notice of his or her authority and purpose.”

The bill would apply to any federal, state, and local law enforcement agency that is funded by the Department of Justice.

The move comes after 26-year-old EMT Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by Louisville’s SWAT team in March after they used a battering ram to break down her door. Taylor, a licensed gun owner, had opened fire after believing that the drug raid was a home invasion due to the fact that the officers failed to announce their presence first.

Taylor’s death outraged civil libertarians nationwide, who said that she had no way of knowing that those breaking down her door were, in fact, police officers.

“After talking with Breonna Taylor’s family, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s long past time to get rid of no-knock warrants,” said Paul. “This bill will effectively end noknock raids in the United States.”

The Louisville Metro Council has already outlawed “no-knock” warrants after Taylor’s death, despite concerns that forcing them to announce them

Ending “No Knock” Warrants

Police Reform

selves before entering a home would allow suspects to destroy evidence.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on policing amid increasing pressure and nationwide protests over the deaths of George Floyd and other African Americans at the hands of law enforcement officers.

At the signing in the Rose Garden President Trump said that he had just met with the families of several recent victims of lethal police violence, adding, “All Americans mourn by your side. Your loved ones will not have died in vain.”

He added, “I could never imagine your pain or the depth of your anguish, but I can promise to fight for justice for all of our people.”

Trump said that order will use grants to help departments meet certification standards on the use of force, create a national database on excessive force complaints, and encourage the involvement of mental health professionals when responding to nonviolent cases, like addiction, homelessness and mental illness.

The president also said the order would prioritize grants to police departments to certify that they meet certain standards, and those standards would include a ban on chokeholds except in situations when an officer’s life is at risk.

The goal of the executive order is to take action without restricting the ability of police to do their jobs, a White House official said, claiming that Democrats are going too far with proposals that “would render police departments ineffective.”

The White House official described Tuesday’s executive order as a “starting point,” telling NBC News that it was “as far as we can go at the executive level” and expressing skepticism that Congress would be able to act.

Attorney General William Bar, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and civil rights attorney S. Lee Merritt, who represents a number of Black families who’ve had loved ones die in encounters with police, also joined Trump in the Rose Garden.

“I am committed to working with Congress on additional measures,” Trump said Tuesday. “Hopefully they will all get together and come up with a solution that goes even beyond what we’re signing today.”

Democrats unveiled asweeping policing overhaul bill earlier this month that would ban chokeholds like the kind that led to the death of Floyd and no-knock warrants, as was used before Taylor’s fatal shooting.

Senate Republicans, too, have been working on their own plan separate from the White House efforts, which Trump said could go “hand-in-hand” with his executive order.

Last week Senate Majority Leader McConnell tapped South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott — the only Black Republican in the Senate — to lead efforts on a police reform bill, but Republican leadership is expected to waituntil after the July 4 recess to act on the measure.

GOP Convention to be Held in FL

President Donald Trump will accept the Republican Party’s nomination in Jacksonville after the Florida city was selected to host the celebration.

Trump’s acceptance speech is now slated to take place on August 27 at VyStar Memorial Arena, a 15,000 multipurpose indoor stadium. The decision was officially announced by the Republican National Committee (RNC) in a press release on Sunday.

“We are thrilled to celebrate this momentous occasion in the great city of Jacksonville,” RNC Chairperson Ronna McDaniel said. “We look for

ward to bringing this great celebration and an economic boom to the Sunshine State in just a few short months.”

The announcement comes after weeks of sparring between South Carolina’s Democratic Governor Roy Cooper and the RNC. Cooper had been working to minimize the convention as much as possible in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus, while the Trump administration insisted that the health guidelines were politicized.

After Cooper refused to budge, Trump threatened to find an alternative location for his nomination speech. However, the RNC is contractually obligated to hold the event in Charlotte, meaning that the actual convention will take place hundreds of miles away from Trump’s acceptance speech.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Mayor Lenny Curry praised the decision to host the acceptance speech in Jacksonville, promising that the state would do everything possible to make the GOP feel welcome.

“Jacksonville, I know what you’re thinking. Are we big enough, bold enough to host the RNC?” Curry said in a video he released following the announcement. “What city would take on the Republican National Convention with just 75 days to pull it off? Probably not many, but Jacksonville isn’t just any city. Here in the River City, we do things big and bold, and we’ll be ready.”

Atlanta Police Chief Resigns

Atlanta Chief of Police Erika Shields was forced to resign over the weekend after law enforcement killed an African American man.

Shields’ resignation was announced by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in a press conference, who called for the police officer responsible for killing 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks to be put on trial. Saying that

ATTENTION Yeshiva & Seminary Students!

PLAN. TEST.

Earn your Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited college in less than a year, through our individualized credit by exam program.

transfer already earned credits AT NO COST

reach your goals with one on one GUIDANCE & SUPPORT

study at your OWN PACE

take exams AT YOUR CONVENIENCE

“ “ As someone who works full-time, CTC made it possible for me to continue my education. The ease and convenience of the program and the help and guidance I received from Lisa Meister from start to finish was unparalleled. I am continuing a Masters at UMUC thanks to CTC. N.Lebowitz

CALL NOW FOR A FREE CONSULTATION!

LISA MEISTER, EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT, B.S. ED 410.258.1158 | LISA@BALTIMORECTC.COM

illustriousdesigngroup@gmail.com

she “did not believe the use of deadly force was justified,’ Bottoms vowed to prosecute those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.

“Because of her desire that At- lanta be a model of what meaningful reform should look like across this country, Chief Shields has offered to immediately step aside as police chief so that the city may move forward with urgency and rebuilding the trust so desperately needed throughout our communities,” said Bottoms.

Brooks, 27, was shot and killed on Friday while fighting with officers outside of a Wendys in Atlanta. Police had been summoned to the scene after passerby reported that he was sleeping in his car, raising suspicions that he was intoxicated. After they confronted Brooks, however, he began to strug- gle, leading to a brawl that resulted in his death.

In body cam footage released on the internet, Brooks can be seen grab- bing an officer’s taser gun and running away, leading the patrolmen present to open fire. Devin Bronsan, one of the policemen involved, has since been suspended, while his partner Garret Rolfe has been fired.

Coming soon after the tragic death of George Floyd, Brooks’ death sparked protests throughout Atlanta over the weekend. In the hours prior to Shields’ resignation, demonstra- tors burned a Wendys and blocked all lanes on the Interstate 75/I-85.

Trump Takes on the ICC

An executive order by U.S. Pres- ident Donald Trump announced last week authorizes sanctions against In- ternational Criminal Court (ICC) staff investigating American troops and in- telligence officials and those of allied nations, including Israel, for possible war crimes in Afghanistan and else- where.

Trump’s order would block the fi- nancial assets of court employees and bar them and their immediate relatives from entering the United States.

Now, the ICC is fighting back. The court has condemned the decision, saying it amounted to “an unaccept- able attempt to interfere with the rule of law and the Court’s judicial pro- ceedings.”

The court, which has 123 member states, said in a statement released ear- ly Friday that it “stands firmly by its staff and officials and remains unwav- ering in its commitment to discharg- ing, independently and impartially, the mandate” laid down in its found- ing treaty, the Rome Statute.

An attack on the Hague-based court also constitutes “an attack against the interests of victims of atrocity crimes, for many of whom the Court represents the last hope for jus- tice,” it said.

ICC was created in 2002 to pros- ecute war crimes and crimes of hu- manity and genocide in places where perpetrators might not otherwise face justice. The U.S. has never been a member of the ICC.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced the tribunal as a “kangaroo court” that has been un- successful and inefficient in prosecut- ing war crimes. He said that the U.S. would punish the ICC employees for any investigation or prosecution of Americans in Afghanistan and add- ed that they could also be banned for prosecuting Israelis for alleged abuses against Palestinians.

“It gives us no joy to punish them,” Pompeo said. “But we cannot allow ICC officials and their families to come to the United States to shop and travel and otherwise enjoy American freedoms as these same officials seek to prosecute the defender of those very freedoms.”

Last year, Pompeo revoked the visa of the court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, after she asked ICC judges to open an investigation into al- leged war crimes in Afghanistan. The judges initially rejected the request, she appealed, and the court authorized the investigation in March.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, backed the U.S. action, accusing the court of fabricating “out- landish charges” against his country,

Thanks, Governor Hogan, for allowing outdoor seating at Goldberg’s!

Brisses • Sheva Brachos • Graduations • Anniversaries • All Dairy Occasions

1500 Reisterstown Road • Baltimore, MD

Tel: 410-415-7001 • Fax: 410-415-5350

www.goldbergsbagels.com

OPEN SUNDAY–FRIDAY AT 6 AM EST 10% OFF

Exp. 7-7-20. Maximum Value $10.

BE CO FIDENT N YOUR FU URE.

CHOOSE WITS.

ATTEND CLASSES ON-SITE OR ON-LINE

Earn an Internationally Recognized BA

Inspiring Kodesh Classes

New!Graphic Design Program 96% Grad School Acceptance Rate

Over 1900 Successful Alumnae

Israel Study Abroad Program

Federal and State Financial Aid Available

Educating Women for Life

APPLY NOW FOR FALL 2020 www.wits.edu

MalkaDesigns.com and praising the U.S. for standing up for what he called was truth and justice.

Mini Madoff Arrested

A disgraced gallery owner known as the art world’s “mini-Madoff” has been taken into custody on the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, according to federal prosecutors in New York, who have charged Inigo Philbrick in a $20 million fraud scheme.

Vanuatu authorities expelled Philbrick at the request of the U.S. Embassy in Papua New Guinea. He was then transported to Guam, a territory of the U.S.

Philbrick was an art dealer specializing in post-war and contemporary fine art with galleries in London and Miami. He fled the country last year after he was accused of, among other things, selling the same piece of art to multiple buyers.

“Inigo Philbrick was a serial swindler who misled art collectors, investors, and lenders out of more than $20 million,” said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman. “You can’t sell more than 100 percent ownership in a single piece of art, which Philbrick allegedly did, among other scams.”

Philbrick, who is charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, bought at auction a 1982 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat titled “Humidity” for $12.5 million, according to the criminal complaint. He allegedly told an investor he paid $18.4 million.

The investor, the FBI said, wired Philbrick $12.2 million for a joint ownership stake. Philbrick allegedly then sold a second ownership stake to a different investor without disclosing it to either.

“Mr. Philbrick allegedly sought out high-dollar art investors, sold pieces he didn’t own, and played games with millions of dollars in other people’s money,” said FBI Assistant Director Bill Sweeney.

Philbrick also misrepresented the ownership in a 2010 untitled painting by Christopher Wool and a 2012 untitled work by Rudolf Stingel that depicted Pablo Picasso.

The FBI said the three-year scheme began to fall apart in 2019 when investors and lenders started asking questions and demanded money.

“Philbrick’s unpaid debts mounted and various investors began demanding the return of their investments or artworks,” the complaint said.

His galleries closed, and he fled the country. He had been living in Vanuatu since October 2019, federal prosecutors said.

NFL’s $250M towards Racism

The NFL has announced that it would pledge $250 million over the next ten years to help fight systematic racism.

The money will be allocated to a fund that will also “support the battle against the ongoing and historic injustices faced by African-Americans,”according to a statement issued by the league on Thursday.

“The NFL and our clubs will continue to work collaboratively with NFL players to support programs to address criminal justice reform, police reforms, and economic and educational advancement.”

The NFL said it will also use its television network and other media properties to raise awareness, promote “education of social justice issues” and to “foster unity.”

Last week, Commissioner Roger Goodell admitted the league should have listened to players earlier about racism concerns.

“We, the National Football League,

GOT THIS SOLD! CAN

HELP YOU

TOO!

3203 SZOLD 4 Bed | 2.5 Bath