A month before fires, L.A. fire chief warned budget cuts were hampering emergency response The Los Angeles Fire Department's budget was cut by $17.6 million, about 2%, this fiscal year. The fire chief warned last month it would make it harder to respond to emergencies. 01/10/2025 - 5:51 am | View Link
Anger, police distrust follow man's killing during domestic call: 'He wasn't trying to hurt me' "I never broke a nail. He never touched me, but his demeanor worried me," said Charlotta Pritchett, who called the police to help her boyfriend Timothy Glaze, who she said was having a mental health ... 01/9/2025 - 4:55 am | View Link
Outgoing US attorney addresses Worcester police investigation, and homicide spike BOSTON ― Outgoing U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua S. Levy told reporters Wednesday he is “hopeful” his office can reach an agreement with Worcester on police reforms, while acknowledging that ... 01/8/2025 - 6:00 am | View Link
As Minneapolis agrees to federal police reform, DOJ cites these 5 cities as success stories Minneapolis is poised to become the U.S. Justice Department’s 16th under federal consent decree for police reform. 01/8/2025 - 3:45 am | View Link
Minneapolis Agrees to Overhaul Police Training and Force Policies After George Floyd’s Murder The deal incorporates and builds on changes the Minneapolis Police Department has made since the death of George Floyd. 01/7/2025 - 6:43 am | View Link
Defund the police In the United States, "defund the police" is a slogan advocating for reallocating funds from police departments to non-policing forms of public safety and community support initiatives, such as social services, youth programs, housing, education, healthcare, and other community resources. 01/5/2025 - 8:01 am | View Website
Defund the police | Pros, Cons, Debate, Black Lives Matter, George ... Although there are multiple interpretations of “defund the police,” the basic definition is “to move funding away from police departments and into community resources, such as mental health experts, housing, and social workers.” 01/5/2025 - 4:12 am | View Website
Defunding police: What it means and what it could look like | CNN The solution to police brutality and racial inequalities in policing is simple, supporters say: Just defund police. 01/5/2025 - 4:05 am | View Website
What does ‘defund the police’ mean and does it have merit? Different from abolishing and starting anew, defunding police highlights fiscal responsibility, advocates for a market-driven approach to taxpayer money, and has some potential benefits that... 01/3/2025 - 8:43 pm | View Website
7 myths about “defunding the police” debunked Policing in the U.S. is a highly politicized issue with a history intertwined with racial and class-based struggle. During the summer of 2020, no issue was debated more than the subject of... 01/3/2025 - 8:00 pm | View Website
Politico got a hold of a memo being circulated by House Republicans, and it ain't pretty:
House Republicans are passing around a “menu” of more than $5 trillion in cuts they could use to bankroll President-elect Donald Trump’s top priorities this year, including tax cuts and border security.
The early list of potential spending offsets obtained by POLITICO includes changes to Medicare and ending Biden administration climate programs, along with slashing welfare and “reimagining” the Affordable Care Act.
In case you need another reason to cancel your Threads, Instagram and/or Facebook accounts, here’s the latest from the Zuckerberg company that just got rid of its fact-checking in order to make Meta more of a cesspool like Twitter. Because why stand in the way of disinformation, Russian bots or white supremacy when it might cost Zuck a tax cut?
From Axios:
Mark Zuckerberg's Meta is terminating major DEI programs, effective immediately — including for hiring, training and picking suppliers, according to a new employee memo obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: The move is a strong signal to Meta employees that the company's push to make inroads with the incoming Trump administration isn't just posturing, but an ethos shift that will impact its business practices.read more
Looks like the president is doing everything he can to thwart whatever nastiness the Giant Yam has in store for immigrants. Via the New York Times:
The Biden administration on Friday issued sweeping extensions of deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of people from Sudan, Ukraine and Venezuela in a move that makes it almost impossible for President-elect Donald J.
In a racist and bigoted tirade on Thursday, conservative influencer Charlie Kirk blamed the California wildfires on lesbians and a lack of "white men" firefighters.
"California has been the petri dish," Kirk bellowed on his Thursday podcast. "It has been the Wuhan Institute of Virology for the woke mind virus."
"California's where all of the diversity, equity, inclusion, critical race theory, LGBTQIA plus ideology has been festering," he continued.