(NEW YORK) — A Connecticut elementary school teacher has been arrested after she allegedly demonstrated a chokehold on her students, causing one of them to faint, authorities said.
The alleged incident occurred last month at Brookside Elementary School in Norwalk, Connecticut. The Norwalk Police Department said in a press release on Saturday that it was contacted by Norwalk Public Schools on Feb. 24 after “a staff member had just rendered a student unconscious at Brookside Elementary School.”
The police department immediately deployed its Special Victims Unit to investigate the case and a probe revealed that 50-year-old Stefanie Sanabria, who was working as a math coach at the school, “had demonstrated a martial arts choke hold on three fifth-grade students in class” and “one of the students lost consciousness as a result,” according to the press release.
The child was “immediately” treated by the school nurse, police said. The child’s condition was unknown.
A spokesperson for Norwalk Public Schools said the student did not sustain any permanent injury and that Sanabria has since resigned.
“The safety of our students is our first concern, and we immediately investigated the situation involving Ms. Sanabria when it occurred,” the spokesperson told New Haven ABC affiliate WTNH-TV in a statement.
Police did not say why Sanabria was showcasing martial arts moves on students or at school.
Based on findings from the ongoing investigation, an arrest warrant for Sanabria was issued last Friday and she was taken into custody on $20,000 bond at her home in Danbury, Connecticut. She has been charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree strangulation and risk of injury to a minor, according to police.
Sanabria’s initial court appearance is scheduled for March 10, police said. It was unclear whether she had retained an attorney.
(NEW YORK) — On the sidelines of China’s annual National People’s Congress this week, both Chinese President Xi Jinping and newly promoted Foreign Minister Qin Gang aired their respective frustrations at the United States.
In a closed-door session with delegates from China’s private sector Monday, Xi made a rare direct reference to the United States when blaming Washington for his nation’s economic challenges.
In the Chinese-language readout of the meeting from the Xinhua News Agency, Xi said, “The Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment, containment and suppression on our country, bringing unprecedented severe challenges to the our development.”
The criticism does not appear in the English-language version.
Xi’s remarks come as U.S.-China tension have remained high since the U.S. accused Beijing of sending a high-altitude surveillance balloon over the continental United States last month and then proceede to shoot it down with a fighter jet.
Despite both sides having signaled a desire for a reset when Xi met with President Joe Biden at the G20 in Bali last November, the two largest economies in the world remain at odds on a whole host of issues not limited to Russia’s war in Ukraine, Taiwan and advanced semiconductors.
The Chinese leader’s frustrations during Monday’s panel discussion came on the heels of the U.S. asking Japan and the Netherlands to tighten export controls of chip manufacturing equipment and technologies to China, prompting an angry response from Beijing.
During his first press conference as foreign minister, Qin Gang — most recently the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. — warned that while Beijing was “committed” to stable ties with Washington, the relationship will worsen if the U.S. does not change its attitude toward China and potentially incite conflict.
“If the U.S. does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing, and there will surely be conflicts and confrontation,” said Qin. “Who will bear the catastrophic consequences?”
Bringing up the balloon incident, Qin said that the U.S. took “advantage of the topic and created a diplomatic crisis that could have been avoided.”
“The U.S. perception and views of China are seriously distorted. It regards China as its primary rival and the most consequential geopolitical challenge. This is like the first button of a shirt being put wrong,” Qin continued.
“Containment and suppression will not make America great again, nor will it stop China from moving towards national rejuvenation,” he said.
Qin later slammed the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific strategy, accusing Washington of forming “exclusive small circles” to provoke confrontation, decoupling and creating an “Asia-Pacific version of NATO.”
“The real purpose of the Indo-Pacific strategy is to contain China,” Qin said. “No Cold War should be repeated in Asia, and no Ukraine-style crisis should be repeated in Asia.”
On relations with Russia, Qin said the China-Russia ties “do not pose a threat to any country in the world, nor will it be interfered or sowed discord in by any third party.”
“The more unstable the world becomes, the more imperative it is for China and Russia to steadily advance their relations,” he said.
On Taiwan, Qin warned the U.S. not to “interfere in China’s internal affairs” saying the issue is a “red line that must not be crossed” and the “bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations.”
Qin slammed the U.S. for double-standards when discussing Ukraine and Taiwan, saying “the Chinese people have the right to ask why the U.S. talks about respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity on the Ukraine issue, but does not respect China on the Taiwan issue? Why does the US ask China not to provide weapons to Russia while keeps selling arms to Taiwan?”
Beijing sees self-governing Taiwan as a renegade province and claims the island as its territory despite never having directly controlled it.
In an appeal for getting U.S.-China relations back on track, Qin drew from his tenure in the States.
“I have noticed that more and more people in the United States are deeply worried about the current Sino-US relations, and they have called on the US government to implement a rational and pragmatic China policy,” Qin said.
Qin attempted to highlight a distinction between U.S. politicians and the American people, echoing a tactic used in Washington to distinguish between the ruling Communist Party of China and the Chinese people.
“The American people are as warm, friendly and honest as the Chinese people. They all pursue a happy life and a better world. When I was working in the United States, the workers at the Long Beach dock in Los Angeles told me that the livelihood of the whole family depended on the trade of goods between China and the United States, and that the two countries should prosper together,” he said.
“Whenever I think of them, I think that what determines China-U.S. relations should be the common interests of the two countries, shared responsibilities and friendship between the two peoples, rather than U.S. domestic politics and hysterical Neo-McCarthyism,” Qin added.
(PARIS) — As ticket sales for the 2024 Paris Olympics get underway, some online reviewers have begun to raise concerns about what they see as the flaws of a new sales system.
A new ticket draw registration was implemented for these Games, which start in July 2024. Ticket buyers had to enter the draw to access the first two rounds of sales, marking a first for the Olympics. Early buyers are also compelled to buy tickets to more than one event. The first round of sales is underway and the second starts on March 15. Single ticket sales open on May 11.
Some have said that their anger and frustration have been mounting over what they described as a lack of transparency and a lack of affordable options.
In online reviews, the new system has been described as “an absolute shambles” and “a damper.” Others said, “Shame on you” and “that excitement was short-lived.”
The Paris committee has a total of 13.5 million tickets to sell, which includes 3.5 million for the Paralympics. Half of all tickets have been priced at 50 euros or less. About one million tickets are priced below 24 euros apiece.
“We know that we are going to make people disappointed because you have 4 billion people watching the games, and we have 10 million tickets, so we know that inevitably that there will be people disappointed,” 2024 Olympics spokesperson Michael Aloïsio said.
Reviews are mixed, as some events sell out
But sales have been brisk. The organization said that 14 sports had remaining tickets, as of Tuesday afternoon.
“It started extremely strong, and it continues to move every day,” Aloïsio told ABC News.
Stefan Junker, 47, a German fan, told ABC News he was “very happy” he’ll be attending the Games with his wife. He said it felt “a little bit like Christmas” when he got his 24 tickets on Feb. 21.
Self-described super fan Isabelle Zky, who’ll be attending her first Olympics, couldn’t believe her luck.
“I have been a fan of the Olympic Games for 30 years so I only dreamed of being able to attend,” the 46-year-old Parisian told ABC News.
She said she had a few tickets secured for now.
While there are many happy fans, some regret an overall lack of transparency, mainly about the draw and buying system.
Sacha Lorber, 23, a French national in Australia, said he was proud he managed to buy 30 tickets for himself and his family back in his homeland.
He described his experience as “smooth,” crediting his day-long preparation “to try and understand everything,” but to him, “it always seemed like they were hiding something.”
Lorber said the issues about the buying experience could have been resolved by “providing a simulator” and more transparency, in real time, about the states of the sales in each sport, to avoid having to “hunt for information.” He added that “they campaign the buying process for its inclusivity and openness, hard to see from my perspective.”
Zky said she regretted there was “no national preference” in the beginning. She also criticized the 30-ticket cap per buyer as “a bit excessive.”
The mandatory buying of the same number of tickets in each sport within a pack was an important issue for Aymane Hedaraly, 26, based in Grenoble, and her friends.
Some see prices as discouraging
Some of the people selected in the initial draw said they experienced a different kind of frustration.
“I have the impression that France does not want the inhabitants of its own country, or the fans even of athletics, to go to the stadium to see,” Maëva Beaujour, who was unlucky in the draw, said.
The 25-year-old said she was profoundly disappointment.
“The whole way of doing things, I find that it does not make sense and does not correspond at all to the idea of opening the games wide,” the sprint, 200 and 400m runner states.
“I think that the target is not the inhabitants of France,” she said, adding that €700 for a ticket is “crazy in the midst of inflation.”
Her sentiments were shared by other people ABC News spoke with.
Yorick Spieker, 50, from the town of Kempen northwest of Düsseldorf, said he found the prices “ridiculous” too.
“There wasn’t really a budget,” he said, but “I’m not going to spend 2,000 or 3000 euro on four tickets.”
Sélène Agapé, 31, who lives in Seine-Saint-Denis, an area hosting a portion of the games, said she was crushed when she logged on to buy tickets last Tuesday.
“I was disappointed because it looked super accessible the way it was presented, I felt like I was going to have all my chances, but in the end, not at all,” she said.
She said she had a budget equivalent to about $211 to see some athletics, boxing and judo events.
“The further you go in the stages, the less accessible it is, the conditions make it less accessible,” she adds.
Hedaraly said she was only offered a minimum of $159 per play-off ticket.
Even with an anticipated budget of $5,299, which she said she’d been saving since 2017, Zky, the super fan, said the Olympics are “very expensive.” She said she found the pricing differences between some categories “a bit harsh.”
The French committee said it was aware some had expressed their disappointment, but considered it par for the course as they have higher demand than the total number of tickets. That point was repeated by 2024 Games President Tony Estanguet, a former athlete, last week as he addressed the controversy on a local radio show.
Despite the controversy, Michael Aloïsio predicted the second sale would sell out before its intended close on March 15.
(WASHINGTON) — This week is a busy one for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with the state Legislature convening for their 2023 session and DeSantis traveling to the early presidential nominating state of Iowa — though he’s played down chatter about a White House bid.
During the two-month-long legislative session, Florida politicians are expected to tackle some of the country’s most contentious issues in the wake of DeSantis’ nearly 20-point reelection victory in November, alongside numerous other GOP wins in the state, which has energized conservatives there.
Republicans control both the state’s House and Senate. If DeSantis notches more legislative wins this session, they could help him launch a stronger presidential bid.
Matt Terrill, the managing partner for Firehouse Strategies, a public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C., told ABC News in an interview that DeSantis has political capital that he’s looking to spend following his landslide win.
“There’s an environment there where he is going to have the ability to really enhance and champion and drive forward the Republican legislative agenda,” Terrill said.
Education was and will continue to be a consequential issue. Republicans have introduced a bill that would prevent state universities from any programs or hiring practices involving diversity, equity and inclusion, allow review of a professor’s tenure and remove any majors or minors in gender studies or other related topics — which together amount to sweeping changes in higher education as part of DeSantis’ response to what he calls “woke” excess that has infiltrated classrooms.
His opponents, in turn, have said he is anti-free speech and even authoritarian, wielding his power to target groups and ideas he doesn’t like.
Republicans hope to expand on some of the restrictions in the Parental Rights in Education law — labeled by critics as “Don’t Say Gay” — which passed last year and which banned discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in certain K-12 classrooms, mostly those in third grade and younger, where DeSantis and others say it is inappropriate.
The new HB1223 would require educators to use the pronouns of a student’s gender at birth, while a separate bill would require that students in sixth through 12th grades be taught “that sex is determined by biology and reproductive function at birth.”
Another proposal Republican lawmakers are pushing is legislation allowing Floridians to carry a firearm without a state license. Currently, the state requires a background check and training courses for anyone seeking a permit.
That bill has drawn criticism from gun safety advocates such as Alyssa Ackbar, from March for Our Lives. Ackbar testified against the bill earlier this year.
GOP legislators also want to move forward on a defamation bill that would make it easier for public officials to sue news organizations and others who publish false information.
The measure would weaken the high bar for defamation claims as set in the U.S. Supreme Court’s New York Times Co. v. Sullivan ruling, which for decades has required public figures show “actual malice” — foreknowledge by a publisher that something was false or extreme negligence in handling the information — in order to win a case. The defamation bill would also narrow the scope of who is considered a “public figure.”
Increasing the ability to pursue defamation claims has become a huge part of DeSantis’ platform. In February, he held a roundtable discussion on the topic. He also regularly criticizes how various parts of the news industry operate.
Regarding the media, Florida state Sen. Jason Brodeur has introduced a bill titled “Information Dissemination” which, if passed, would require bloggers who write about DeSantis and the Florida government to register with the state and disclose who is paying them for their posts.
The Legislature could take up yet other headline-making bills.
DeSantis has said over the past few months that he’s willing to sign into law a so-called heartbeat bill that would ban abortions after six weeks. But as of now, no legislation has been filed. Currently, Florida prohibits almost all abortions after 15 weeks.
Another potential bill spectators are watching out for is if Republican lawmakers put forth proposals that would repeal Florida’s “resign-to-run” law, which states that an elected official must step down from office if they run for office in another state. This law would need to be changed for DeSantis to stay on as governor of Florida if he decides to run for president.
As state lawmakers convene again — with DeSantis set for his State of the State speech on Tuesday — the governor will also be making appearances elsewhere this week, traveling to Iowa on Friday.
Since releasing his memoir, The Courage to Be Free, last month, DeSantis has ramped up his travels across the country. He finished a few stints at donor dinners in Texas and California last weekend and gave a high-profile speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in California, where he swiped at Gov. Gavin Newsom — who has also criticized him — and discussed Florida’s gains over the past few years and the actions he’s taken as governor.
DeSantis has publicly shrugged off the repeated questions about a 2024 campaign, but observers say his style bolsters that possibility.
“In the Republican primary, I think many voters are looking not just at a candidate’s rhetoric but their record and who are the candidates who have gotten things done,” Terrill said. “Those are elements voters will look at.”
(PHILADELPHIA) — For nearly 20 years, as a son of Colombian immigrants, Miguel has been living out his American dream without any certainty he’ll be allowed to stay in America.
Soon, he says, he’s calling it quits on the U.S. and moving to Canada instead.
“I still consider myself a dreamer in the sense that I’m a DACA recipient, but I’m done dreaming. I want a real life,” the 23-year-old college graduate and masters student, who’s chasing a career in education administration, said in an interview.
“I don’t think it’s going back to square one, but it’s still disheartening that it didn’t work out in America,” he said.
More than a decade after President Barack Obama created DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, to temporarily protect young undocumented immigrants like Miguel from deportation, a growing number say they are looking to leave the country on their own terms.
Immigrant and community advocates say interest among DACA recipients in building a future outside America’s borders has been surging in recent months, after a federal appeals court in October said the DACA program is likely illegal and should be eliminated entirely. Legal experts expect the case to eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I think that’s why we’ve had an increase of membership and folks asking questions just because they’ve been discouraged for so long,” said Tawheeda Wahabzada, a former DACA recipient who self-deported to Canada in 2020 and co-founded ONWARD, an online support network of hundreds of disillusioned American dreamers.
Congress has repeatedly tried, unsuccessfully, to create a pathway to permanent residency for the estimated 3.6 million American dreamers brought to the country as young children, and a legislative solution is not on the horizon.
“For me, personally, it is sad, but at the same time, being able to live life on my terms, and not what Congress or a judge or lawyers far away decide, is incredibly empowering for me,” said Miguel, who asked to withhold his last name to protect his family’s privacy.
Nearly 700,000 young immigrants are currently enrolled in DACA, according to the Department of Homeland Security. It is not known exactly how many are considering uprooting from America, or how many have already left.
Several independent analyses have estimated that losing the contributions of DACA recipients from the U.S. economy could cost hundreds of billions of dollars in lost income and tax revenue.
“Brain drain, essentially,” Wahabzada said of the exodus. “Many are declaring an end to their American dream in the U.S., but the components of that dream, the essence of that dream, could still continue elsewhere.”
In interviews with ABC News, several former DACA recipients who are rebuilding their lives abroad said that years of uncertainty in America — because of a situation that was no fault of their own — took a steep emotional and financial toll.
“Stability. That’s what I want,” said Miguel. “All I want is just to have a nice apartment or a nice home. A dog. And I don’t have that right now because I’m living my life in two-year increments.”
He said the process of renewing two-year DACA authorization to live and work in the U.S. has cost him more than $10,000 in application and legal fees.
“The States is basically a golden cage. You have all these opportunities but you can’t really go anywhere past a certain point,” said Madai Zamora, a former DACA recipient who lived in the U.S. from age 3 but self-deported to Mexico in 2018 when she was 24.
Zamora, who grew up in California and North Carolina before graduating college and becoming a teacher, runs a video blog “Diary of a Native Foreigner” that documents her transition to a place she lived briefly as a child but has never truly known.
“Just having to navigate everything by myself, without my mom or my siblings or my nieces has been very difficult,” she said.
Her family still resides in the U.S.
Jason Hong, a former DACA recipient and co-founder of ONWARD, spent 18 years growing up on the East Coast before leaving home in 2019 for Spain, where he got an entrepreneur visa and now runs two startup companies.
“Immigrants are the ones who create the jobs,” Hong said in an interview from Madrid. “So for me, I really wanted to kind of represent that segment where I can create a company based on my ideas and, hopefully, to create job opportunities for other people.”
Critics of extending permanent legal status to DACA recipients say it would be an “amnesty” for families that broke the law, and could compromise jobs for other Americans. It remains a sticking point in congressional negotiations over the dreamers as immigration authorities face near-record levels of migration along the southern border.
DACA recipients and their advocates — which include Democrats and Republicans — say the college graduates are filling vital roles that remain in high demand, including health care workers, teachers, and small business owners.
Monsy Hernandez, a former DACA recipient from South Carolina, moved to Germany at 23 in order to pursue a career in social work, leaving the US at a time when social workers are in short supply.
“I wanted very badly to consider myself American and to be seen as American. However, it was very obvious to me in the way that I was treated and the way that people spoke to me, that I was not welcome,” Hernandez said in an interview.
“I do not have any regrets about self-deporting. I’m no longer illegal, and I found that it’s been incredibly healing to be able to settle down and live in a country where I am accepted and feel accepted,” Monsy said.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC News that the Biden administration does not want DACA recipients to abandon their American dreams.
“We’re committed to youth who know no other country, no other home than the United States of America, who’ve contributed so much to the well-being and prosperity of our country,” he said. “We’ve sought to fortify the DACA program through our regulation, and we are hopeful that the Supreme Court will recognize the integrity of the DACA program and protect the Dreamers.”
Miguel, who is preparing to move to Canada this summer to enroll in business school and apply for permanent residency, says years of political promises have failed to materialize.
“I think it shows that the American Dream has, you know, in many ways left us out, unfortunately,” he said. “That’s not to spite the American people. I consider myself American. I love this country. But unfortunately, the dream has really left us out.”
“We’re not bad people. We’re good people,” he added. “We just want a chance to succeed.”
(INDIANAPOLIS) — A suspect remains at large after a man was shot dead outside Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis on Monday night, police said.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department deployed officers to the scene just before 10 p.m. ET, after receiving multiple reports that a person had been shot. Officers found a gunshot victim — an unnamed adult male — on a sidewalk outside the stadium, which is home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, according to William Young, a police public information officer.
“It is important to note that this did not happen inside of the convention center, nor did it happen inside of Lucas Oil Stadium,” Young said during a brief press conference on Monday night. “We do have information that led officers to believe that a suspect or an alleged suspect did go inside of the convention center.”
The Indiana Convention Center was placed under lockdown with those inside asked to shelter in place, as officers swept the venue to ensure everyone was safe and there were no additional victims. All streets around Lucas Oil Stadium were also closed due to the ongoing investigation, according to Young.
Young, who did not take questions from reporters, said there was “a heavy police presence” in the area and urged members of the public to “stay away.”
“At this time, we do not have a suspect in custody,” he added. “This is a very active scene.”
Later Monday, as the investigation continued, police announced via Twitter that a review of the the Indiana Convention Center’s surveillance footage showed the unidentified suspect entering and then leaving the building. The suspect was not able to go back inside, police tweeted.
The lockdown at the convention center was later lifted and some of surrounding roads were reopened, though investigators remained on scene.
Further details on the incident were not immediately available.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch at 317-327-3475, or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477.
(WASHINGTON) — Pending changes to the century-old criminal code of Washington, D.C., are now at the center of political controversy in Congress and an ongoing debate about the capitol’s municipal sovereignty — as local advocates say solutions require the very unity lacking in the discussion, with violence on the rise.
The Senate, which has rarely-used oversight authority over the D.C. council, is expected on Wednesday to reject new reforms that would have majorly overhauled the district’s criminal code for the first time since 1901.
The new code would reduce some criminal penalties, including for carjacking and robbery, while increasing others, including for attempted murder; it would also require more jury trials and end some mandatory minimum punishments.
While the city council unanimously supported the so-called crime bill, which was developed over 16 years, Mayor Muriel Bowser unsuccessfully vetoed the legislation. Republicans and some Democrats in Congress are now seeking to block it and President Joe Biden has said he will not get in the way, despite his support of D.C. statehood.
Homicides growing
The number of D.C. homicides so far this year is up 31% compared to this point in 2022, according to data from the Metropolitan Police Department. There were 203 homicides last year — a slight reduction from 2021, which followed several years of steady increases in homicides going back to 2017.
Total reports of violent crime in the district, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, are down slightly so far this year while overall reported crime is up 25%, according to MPD.
At a press conference Monday, Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee stressed what he called the need for long sentences for those guilty of homicide. He said the average homicide suspect has been arrested 11 times prior.
“We want to keep bad guys off the street and keep them from getting guns in their hands,” Contee said. “If we can do those things, we’ll see a reduction in homicides in the city.”
Mayor Bowser acknowledged a recent scourge of shooting deaths while echoing Contee’s determined outlook at the press conference.
“We start this year in a tough spot with shootings and homicides,” she said. “But I assure you that we’re going to use all the resources at our disposal.”
‘Hard for us to come together as one’
Although activists have many differing opinions on the crime bill and policing in the district, the local leaders are united in wanting more of a voice should the criminal code be revisited and sent back to Congress, which the city council chairman has indicated is the next step.
On Thursday, some of those advocates gathered with lawmakers in southeast D.C., steps away from where police said a woman was accidentally shot in front of a Safeway and a police station.
Ron Moten, co-founder of Don’t Mute DC, said divisions in the debates about policing kept the community further from reducing violence.
“Some of the same people now who raised hell telling people to resign are the same people who say we don’t need police,” he said. “So everybody feeling it and don’t know what to do. … This is the time that we start bringing everybody together because we all are in duress, we all are living in fear. So it’s hard for us to come together as one D.C., united as one.”
Moten, who is hosting a series of events across all eight wards in the district aimed at curbing violence, did not mince words.
“We have a serious problem in D.C.,” he said. “We have elected officials who are not culturally competent.”
“Put all the B.S. — put all of the titles, put all the different parties, Democrat, Republican, Black, white — out the door and let’s talk about the real elephant in the room which is equity, harmony, inclusion, education and accountability,” Moten added.
Community members had a role, too, he said.
“It’s very important to get people from the community to step up,” he said. “They’re part of the prevention. And it’s just that simple. It’s both ways, and it ain’t just the government either.”
Moten told ABC News on Monday that “you have the right to scrutinize the policy that [the city puts] forth, but you don’t have a right to strip us of justice and democracy.” He strongly disagrees with the current crime bill, he said.
But Congress intervening “is going against democracy — whether we agree with the legislation or not, that’s not the issue. I think that the voters should deal with that,” he said.
The D.C. native, who identifies as an independent, said he expects crime to be one of the top issues in the next federal election and said that if Biden had come out in support of the criminal code changes, that would have hurt him politically — just as House Democrats who backed the bill are now facing scrutiny at home.
“This is a decision for future votes,” he said.
Moten was incarcerated in the 1990s and has since worked to keep people out of prison and empower the community. He said he doesn’t want to see a return to mass incarceration that happened following the wave of street violence in the 1980s and 1990s. He wants more work on the criminal code and would like individual assessments and support to prevent repeat or similar offenses.
He said on Thursday that the assessments could see if an individual “was robbing somebody because he got to feed his siblings [or] if he was robbing somebody because he’d been traumatized for the last 10 years and never got no services [or] if he robbed somebody because he played Grand Theft Auto … Whatever that situation might be, there has to be an assessment plan put in place to let them know, ‘We’re gonna help you. But if you don’t take the help, you’re going to face stiff penalties.'”
In January, not far from the Safeway scene where Moten and others spoke last week, community leaders and activists joined together at a Busboys and Poets restaurant in Anacostia to share a unified message, written in bold red and white on signs carried by attendees: “Thou shall not kill.”
The message was first spread across D.C. 30 years ago, at the height of the crack epidemic.
Philip Pannell, executive director of the Anacostia Coordinating Council, told ABC News in January that he brought back the posters to shock the consciousness of the community, hoping the simple phrase might make a potential criminal think twice.
Several thousand posters have been ordered and posted in windows and businesses and other locations across the city, Pannell said.
“Maybe someone with a gun who is thinking of pulling the trigger may look up and actually see the poster and we moved by not to shoot,” Pannell said. “Because of the constant violence and the shootings and homicides, there are substantial numbers of people in our community that have become too desensitized, almost numb to it.”
Pannell noted then that although there are many anti-violence programs in the district, most residents are not attending or are being touched by those efforts. He said his message against killing “may actually start conversations in areas where there have not been any.”
Mayor’s view
Bowser said Friday, during an interview on the radio show “The Politics Hour” with Kojo Nnamdi, that she wanted to look D.C. “residents in the face and say that we didn’t make carjacking penalties more lenient. We didn’t make the environment for police who are trying to take guns off the streets even harder. So we have some work to do. And I know that we’ll all roll up our sleeves and get it done.”
She said she would be making more proposals to the city council.
“What we have to do is not fight each other,” she said.
With a Senate vote expected Wednesday on a resolution to quash the crime bill, activists plan to stage a protest outside of Union Station, not far from the Capitol.
“If Congress overrode local government like this anywhere else in the country, residents would be outraged,” organizers for the event wrote in a joint statement. “It is an act of disregard for our local autonomy and sets a dangerous precedent for future interference.”
As the force behind songs like “Die a Happy Man,” it’s not like Thomas Rhett has kept his emotions all that close to the vest.
But with his new album, the “Angels Don’t Always Have Wings” hitmaker is being more vulnerable than ever.
“I think on this record, I just didn’t want to hold back on what I feel on a daily basis,” TR says. “The very first track on the record is called ‘The Hill.’ It’s the only song that I didn’t write on this album.”
“And when I heard it,” he continues, “I just broke down in tears. I was like, ‘Holy crap, this is really sad.’ And I’m a sucker for a sad song, but it’s also extremely redemptive.”
Combined with “Angels” and the title track, “Where We Started,” it made TR want to show a whole new side of himself.
“I think I’m known as like the love song guy, and it’s always butterflies and roses, and ‘we don’t have any problems’ and all this kind of stuff,” he reflects. “And after my wife’s book was released and it kind of got into the details of just our marriage and … the ups and downs that we’ve been on, it was just like, ‘Well, man, like, why not talk about those real emotions that I experience in my marriage — and a lot of people experience in their marriage — and just kind of put it out there?'”
Lauren Akins‘ book, Live in Love: Growing Together Through Life’s Changes, came out in May 2021 and went on to become a New York Times best seller.
Get ready, Cher fans, because the legendary entertainer has what sounds like a lot of new music coming — as well as a tour.
Speaking with E! News, Cher said, “I’m going to England to make two albums.” She added, “Some of the songs Alexander gave me, so I’m pretty excited about that.”
“Alexander” is Cher’s current boyfriend, Alexander “A.E.” Edwards. She says of her beau, “He’s a producer and a writer and he does everything, so I’m happy about that.”
The star also told E! that she’s planning to hit the road later this year, noting, “I’m trying to get myself in shape.”
Cher’s most recent album was 2018’s ABBA covers album, Dancing Queen, which hit the top three on the Billboard chart. She’s talked about making a sequel, but nothing has been confirmed at this point. Her most recent tour, the Here We Go Again tour, started in 2018 and was forced to end in March 2020 due to the pandemic.
Cher and Alexander were first spotted together in November 2022; she confirmed they were dating on social media a few days later. They were most recently seen together last month at a pre-Grammy party. Over the holidays, he gave her a huge diamond ring, though a source told E! at the time that the two aren’t engaged.
Cher is one of the many stars who’ll be appearing on Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love, a TV special saluting the legendary comedienne and actress thatairs April 26 on NBC.
U2 is releasing their new album, Songs of Surrender, on March 17, featuring reworked and rerecorded classics. But fans are anxious for new material from the band, and in an interview with Rolling Stone, guitarist The Edge says they’ve “been busy” working on that.
“Even leading up to the lockdown, we had a lot of interesting stuff, some of which is almost finished,” he says. “We’re kind of spoiled for choice. There’s an embarrassment of riches of new material.”
Bono previously described what they were working on as a “guitar album.” Edge says he thinks it’s time for “a resurgence of interest in guitar,” noting it’s “been in the wilderness for a little while” with regard to streaming music charts.
“I think it would be wonderful and very welcome for us to make some music that is more driven by guitar. That is the intention,” he says. “That isn’t to say we are turning into AC/DC, but we will find a way to use the instrument in a fresh way as much as possible. It’s still my first love for me as an instrument.”
As for when fans can expect it, Edge says he would love to get it out “as soon as possible,” adding, “we’ve been busy and very inspired creating new stuff.”
Meanwhile, U2 has certainly had quite a career and there are likely plenty of stories to tell, and it sounds like Edge is open to telling them on the big screen.
“I definitely could see that coming at some point. Why not?” he says, when asked if they’d do a biopic. “There’s been some great ones recently. It will have to be the right moment, the right team. But I wouldn’t rule it out.”
