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11.18am BST
A Virginia state senator has been charged with damaging a Confederate monument in Portsmouth during protests that also led to a demonstrator being critically injured when a statue was torn down, authorities said Monday.
The Associated Press reports that Sen. Louise Lucas faces charges of conspiracy to commit a felony and injury to a monument in excess of $1,000, Portsmouth police chief Angela Greene said during a news conference. The Black Lives Matter protest occurred in June.
It’s deeply troubling that on the verge of Virginia passing long-overdue police reform, the first Black woman to serve as our Senate Pro Tempore is suddenly facing highly unusual charges.@SenLouiseLucas, I look forward to seeing you in Richmond tomorrow—so we can get to work. https://t.co/flI9W5HnYH
11.03am BST
Eugene Robinson has a piece on the Washington Post site at the moment in praise of Michelle Obama, titled “For someone who says she hates politics, Michelle Obama is a political powerhouse”
The job of a speaker on the first night of a national party convention is to inspire the faithful and set a tone for the rest of the week. Obama’s famous dictum, first pronounced at the 2016 Democratic convention — “When they go low, we go high” — mandates magnanimity and purpose. On a day when Trump tried to draw attention to himself by throwing red meat to his loyal base, painting Democrats as dangerous radicals who oppose law and order, Obama’s speech offered vivid contrast — and served as a corrective. No one can accuse her of being some sort of antifa-loving revolutionary. “Going high” is still the only option, she cautioned Monday. If we go low, she warned, “we degrade ourselves.”
Continue reading…Democrats show unity on first night of virtual conventionMichelle Obama picks Trump apart in gripping DNC speechTrump calls out New Zealand’s ‘terrible’ Covid surge of nine casesUS recorded 542 coronavirus deaths and 40,022 new cases yesterdaySign up to our First Thing newsletter 11.18am BSTA Virginia state senator has been charged with damaging a Confederate monument in Portsmouth during protests that also led to a demonstrator being critically injured when a statue was torn down, authorities said Monday.The Associated Press reports that Sen. Louise Lucas faces charges of conspiracy to commit a felony and injury to a monument in excess of $1,000, Portsmouth police chief Angela Greene said during a news conference. The Black Lives Matter protest occurred in June.It’s deeply troubling that on the verge of Virginia passing long-overdue police reform, the first Black woman to serve as our Senate Pro Tempore is suddenly facing highly unusual charges.@SenLouiseLucas, I look forward to seeing you in Richmond tomorrow—so we can get to work. https://t.co/flI9W5HnYH 11.03am BSTEugene Robinson has a piece on the Washington Post site at the moment in praise of Michelle Obama, titled “For someone who says she hates politics, Michelle Obama is a political powerhouse”The job of a speaker on the first night of a national party convention is to inspire the faithful and set a tone for the rest of the week. Obama’s famous dictum, first pronounced at the 2016 Democratic convention — “When they go low, we go high” — mandates magnanimity and purpose. On a day when Trump tried to draw attention to himself by throwing red meat to his loyal base, painting Democrats as dangerous radicals who oppose law and order, Obama’s speech offered vivid contrast — and served as a corrective. No one can accuse her of being some sort of antifa-loving revolutionary. “Going high” is still the only option, she cautioned Monday. If we go low, she warned, “we degrade ourselves.” Continue reading…