Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants first responders to receive additional $1K stimulus payment
Ron DeSantis held a press conference from the State Capitol building in Tallahassee. The governor discussed the COVID-19 relief bill recently passed in congress and how he would like to allocate and utilize the funds. “We know the pandemic put an awful lot of strain on first responders,” DeSantis said. “We believe we should recognize their sacrifice.”DeSantis called for first responders to receive additional $1000 stimulus payments from the COVID-19 relief bill for their work during the pandemic. A video stream of the press conference can be seen below:
Guns in capitol buildings divide states after armed protests
FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, armed men stand on the steps at the State Capitol after a rally in support of President Donald Trump in Lansing, Mich. But the question of whether guns should be allowed in capitol buildings remains political and states are going in opposite directions. – In the past year, insurrectionists have breached the U.S. Capitol and armed protesters have forced their way into statehouses around the country. But the question of whether guns should be allowed in capitol buildings remains political, and states are going in opposite directions. “What they said is that weapons, guns, bullets are still welcome in our state Capitol as long as we can’t see them.
Handful of protesters show up at Florida State Capitol; security still stepped up
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Federal, state and local law enforcement arrived at the state capital in large numbers Sunday morning, and while only a handful of demonstrators were visible, security has been stepped up. “They have been working day and night to prepared,” Dailey said. Greg Gandy was the first demonstrator to arrive in front of the state Capitol building hoping to get his message heard. Law enforcement could be seen making their rounds of the federal building. Businesses were boarding up and the increased security comes days after Daniel Brown of Tallahassee was arrested by federal agents on charges that he threatened to violently confront protesters at the state capitol building on Sunday.
US Catholic bishops: clergy sex abuse claims tripled in 2019
In the latest annual report on clerical sex abuse, dioceses and other Catholic entities reported paying out $281.6 million during the year for costs related to allegations, including payments for cases reported in previous years. There has been a huge overall surge in allegations over the past three years as dioceses faced unprecedented pressure to address the decades-old problem of clergy sex abuse. It is the 17th abuse report issued since 2002, when the U.S. bishops established and adopted a comprehensive set of procedures to address sex abuse allegations. Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, which advocates for survivors of clergy sex abuse, expressed concern about a section of the report indicating that only 60% of parishes nationwide were performing safety audits on their own. Every single sitting attorney general should be investigating cases of clergy abuse in their state, identifying enablers and removing them from power, and ensuring that hidden abusers are made known to their communities.
Court: Montana family owns dinosaur fossils worth millions
Circuit Court of Appeals on June 17, 2020, upheld a federal judge's ruling that said dinosaur fossils are part of a property's surface estate in an ongoing battle over ownership of millions of dollars of fossils unearthed on an eastern Montana ranch. Dinosaur fossils worth millions of dollars unearthed on a Montana ranch belong to the owners of the lands surface rights, not the owners of the mineral rights, a U.S. appeals court ruled. The surface rights where the fossils were found are owned by Mary Ann and Lige Murray. In the meantime, the 2019 Montana Legislature passed a bill stating that dinosaur fossils are part of a property's surface estate unless they are reserved as part of the mineral estate. In a 4-3 ruling last month, the Montana justices said dinosaur fossils are not considered minerals under state law.
Alabama coronavirus outlook worsening amid state reopening
Yet state statistics also show hospitalizations are up since early April, which has some health officials worried. Some people are trying to stay 6 feet (2 meters) apart, as required under state orders, but others aren't. Leaders in Republican-controlled, deeply conservative Alabama, like many states, are stuck between trying to revive a lagging economy and prevent the spread of disease. As of Friday, more than 13,400 people had tested positive for the coronavirus in Alabama, and 533 had died. Alabamas jobless rate jumped to 12.9% in April during the economic shutdown linked to the coronavirus pandemic, the worst in nearly 38 years, the state said.
7 barbers ticketed for cutting hair at Michigan Capitol
Barbers and hair stylists are protesting the state?? (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)LANSING, Mich. Police ticketed seven people for cutting hair during a protest outside the Michigan Capitol, where about a dozen barbers and hair stylists defied stay-at-home orders to give free hair cuts Wednesday. At one point, about 300 people attended the demonstration that was organized by the Michigan Conservative Coalition to oppose the measures imposed by Gov. Angela Rigas, of Caledonia in western Michigan, said she was ticketed after refusing three times to stop cutting hair. I will not stand down, said Karl Manke, a 77-year-old barber who cut hair at the demonstration.