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A vigil held at the Times Square for Adam Toledo, Duante Write, George Floyd and other victims of police brutality, in New York City.
A vigil held in Times Square in New York City for Adam Toledo, Duante Write, George Floyd and other victims of police brutality. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A vigil held in Times Square in New York City for Adam Toledo, Duante Write, George Floyd and other victims of police brutality. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

First Thing: Policing of Black Americans violates human rights law, inquiry finds

This article is more than 2 years old

The systematic killing and disproportionate targeting of unarmed Black people by US police breaks human rights commitments, experts have said. Plus, California’s governor will face a recall election

Good morning.

The systematic police killings of unarmed Black Americans amount to crimes against humanity, and should be prosecuted under international law, a global human rights inquiry has found.

In a 188-page report, human rights experts from 11 countries said the US was violating international human rights commitments over the conduct of its law enforcement. The report pointed to the disproportionate targeting of Black people in traffic stops and disproportionate use of deadly force with firearms and stun guns, and accused the US of a “culture of impunity” where officers are not held to account.

  • The Department of Justice is opening an investigation into policing over Breonna Taylor’s death, after she was fatally shot by officers during a raid at her home. The department will investigate the conduct of Louisville police in Kentucky, shortly after announcing a similar investigation into Minneapolis police following the death of George Floyd.

  • Authorities in North Carolina have been accused of “hiding” video evidence of “an execution”, over the death of a Black man shot and killed by police last week. Lawyers representing the family of Andrew Brown said they had only been shown a 20-second clip of the incident from a single officer’s body camera, despite there being at least eight officers present. According to the lawyers, police were already firing at Brown when the footage began, so they could not see the run-up to the incident. His family also said Brown’s hands were on the steering wheel, and he was not reaching for, or holding, a weapon.

California’s governor will have to battle it out in a recall election

Gavin Newsom will face challengers including the reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

California’s governor Gavin Newsom will face a recall election, after his opponents collected enough signatures to trigger the vote. More than 1.6m signatures were verified, according to California’s secretary of state office – 100,000 more than needed. The ballot is likely to be held in the fall.

  • What does a recall election entail? Voters will be asked if Newsom should be removed from office, and who should replace him. The second question will only be considered if 50% vote to remove Newsom from office.

  • Why is a recall being called? The efforts have been led by Republicans who disagree with Newsom’s approach to the pandemic, particularly his use of shutdowns and introduction of a mask mandate. They also oppose his immigration and tax policies.

  • Who will Newsom be up against? Olympic athlete turned reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner has thrown her hat into the ring, as has the former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, the former congressman Doug Ose and John Cox, who lost against Newsom by more than 20 points in 2018. Porn actor and reality TV star Mary Carey is also running, along with the model Angelyne.

As for the likelihood of his removal, the chances don’t look too high. Newsom took office in 2018 with 60% of the vote, and California is a heavily Democratic state where just a quarter of its voters are Republican. Plus, Republicans have tried and fail to recall him before. However, they hope that anger over Newsom’s handling of the pandemic, plus a tiring of Democratic leadership (Republicans haven’t held statewide office since 2006) might swing it.

The Department of Homeland Security is conducting a review into extremism within its ranks

The agency has increased its focus on domestic extremism since Joe Biden took office. Photograph: Hyungwon Kang/Reuters

The Department of Homeland Security yesterday announced an internal review into the threat of domestic violent extremism within its ranks. The sprawling agency, encompassing functions from the Secret Service to transport security and the Coast Guard, also instructed state, local and tribal agencies, which receive its annual grants, to divert 7.5% of the funds to addressing domestic extremism.

Domestic violent extremism poses the most lethal and persistent terrorism-related threat to our country today,” the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, said. “As we work to safeguard our nation, we must be vigilant in our efforts to identify and combat domestic violent extremism within both the broader community and our own organization.”

  • Is there any basis for this? The department did not say it had been triggered by any specific incident, and would not answer further questions on the review. Last year, a Coast Guard lieutenant was accused of being a domestic terrorist and convicted of weapons and drug charges.

The census results are out – so some states are gaining or losing seats in the House

The chamber of the House of Representatives at the Capitol in Washington. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

Six states will be getting additional seats in the House of Representatives due to increases in the population over the past decade, the Census Bureau announced yesterday, while seven states will each lose a single congressional seat. It will also mean changes to the number of electoral college votes each state has for the next decade.

In total, the US recorded population growth of 7.4% over the last decade – the second slowest change in US history. Overall, on 1 April last year, the total US population was 331,449,281 people. The fastest growing parts of the country were the southern and western areas.

  • Who will gain seats? Texas will get two additional seats, while Colorado, Montana, Oregon, North Carolina and Florida will gain one.

  • And who will lose one? California will lose a seat, as will Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The shift of just seven seats among 13 states was the smallest since 1941, according to Ron Jarmin, the acting director of the Census Bureau.

In other news …

The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
  • The US will share up to 60m doses of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine with other countries, the White House said yesterday, as Biden spoke to India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi. India is reportedly running out of vaccines as it grapples with an unprecedented surge in cases which has pushed hospitals to breaking point. The US will also send India oxygen systems, ventilators, testing kits, therapeutic drugs and personal protective equipment.

  • Israel has been accused of commitment crimes of apartheid and persecution by Human Rights Watch. The group claimed that the Israeli government enforced a policy to “maintain the domination by Jewish Israelis over Palestinians”, and that this was the most serious situation they had uncovered in Israel in 30 years of monitoring it.

  • Ghislaine Maxwell is allegedly being kept awake at night so she doesn’t die in jail like Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier she is accused of sex trafficking young girls for. At an appeal hearing, two of three judges expressed concern that light was shone into her cell every 15 minutes to make sure she was breathing, but did not seem inclined to free Maxwell.

Stat of the day: the Oscars ratings took a hit of 58%, taking it to a record low

The Oscars marked another major dip in viewings this year, with a record low of 9.85 million Americans tuning in compared with 23.6 million last year – a drop of about 58%. Last year was already the least watched televised ceremony for the Academy ever.

Don’t miss this: the small towns declaring themselves abortion-free

Over the past year, 23 towns in Texas have passed laws to make abortions punishable by a $2,000 fine, declaring themselves “sanctuary cities for the unborn”. This month, Hayes Centre in Nebraska became the 24th – and the first outside Texas. Many of the efforts seem to be linked to traveling preacher Mark Lee Dickson, who has travelled the south hoping to spread the ordinances. Jessica Glenza learns more.

Last Thing: the pink supermoon around the world

Have you caught a glimpse of April’s pink supermoon yet? Fear not, these photographers from around the world did, and caught it beautifully. From the moon giving a golden-pink halo to the Statue of Liberty, to glowing over the skies of Turkey, this picture gallery is worth a look.

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