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27 Sep

BREAKING: The jury found R. Kelly guilty of racketeering in a sex trafficking case involving a scheme to recruit and sexually abuse women, girls and boys.

He faces up to 20 years in prison under the racketeering charge.

UPDATE: The jury has found R. Kelly guilty on all counts in his New York sex trafficking case.

They include:
▪️ Racketeering: incl. kidnapping, forced labor, bribery
▪️ 8 violations of Mann Act, a sex trafficking statute

He faces up to a max. total 100 years in prison.

R. Kelly was found guilty in NY for a decades-long scheme to recruit and sexually abuse women and children.

▪️ 6 accusers who testified were underage at time of abuse
▪️ First time faced charges for marriage to Aaliyah when she was 15
▪️ Faces more sex crime charges in MN, IL

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21 Sep

The U.S. removed over 6,000 Haitian asylum seekers from the border at Del Rio. It is planning 6 deportation flights on Tuesday, denying many their legal right to asylum — using Trump-era policy.

A man at the border with 2 children said the U.S. government "has no conscience."

DHS says it is investigating images of Border Patrol attacking asylum seekers with whips.

Some were attacked while bringing food/water to Haitians trapped at the border in 104°F heat. One man said: "This treatment they are giving is racism, because of the color of our skin."

Many being deported to Haiti have not been back in years, and are returning amid political crisis, earthquake destruction and gang violence that has displaced thousands.

A man who fled after the 2010 quake, deported back with his wife & son, said: "There's no security in Haiti."

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20 Sep

The U.S. deported 300+ asylum seekers to Haiti and is planning 7 daily deportation flights starting Wednesday.

At least 3,000 people held at a bridge at Del Rio were moved to planes or detention facilities. One woman who was deported said: "We are on the streets with nothing!"

15,000 people from Haiti have been trapped at a bridge on the U.S.-Mexico border in recent days.

Many slept on the ground, with little access to food, water or toilets. Border Patrol blocked people bringing supplies from Mexico. People say they were treated "worse than animals."

"There's no safety in Haiti."

1 in 3 people in Haiti have no secure access to food, a month after an earthquake killed over 2,200 people.

People are also escaping political crisis, poverty and gang violence but have mostly been blocked from asylum using a Trump-era rule.

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11 Sep

Today marks 20 years since the #September11 attacks killed 2,977 people and sparked the so-called war on terror.

Since then:
▪️ Over 63,000 people developed 9/11-related illnesses
▪️ Over 3,000 first responders died from them
▪️ Over 1,000 victims' remains not yet identified

The #September11 attacks were used to justify the U.S. invasion and occupation of Afghanistan.

20 years later:
▪️ Over 42,100 civilians have been killed
▪️ Taliban has retaken control
▪️ Civilian causalities up almost 50% this year
▪️ Over 3 million Afghans internally displaced

@WatsonInstitute

Ex-President Bush used the so-called war on terror after #September11 to justify the invasion of Iraq.

▪️ Approx. 200,000 Iraqi civilians killed
▪️ 1 in 25 displaced by U.S. invasion
▪️ U.S. forces linked to mass killings, torture
▪️ 9M Iraqis still displaced (@WatsonInstitute)

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31 May

Today is 100 years since the #TulsaMassacre, when a white mob ravaged the Black community of Greenwood, killing hundreds of Black people.

Authorities forcibly interned survivors and destroyed evidence of mass graves. True deaths are unknown.

No one was charged for the killings.

A #TulsaMassacre memorial event was canceled after the city rejected a $1 million reparations request for 3 of the last-known survivors

The city commission offered only $100,000 each.

The 1921 white mob attack left 10,000 Black residents homeless. No compensation was paid.

On May 31, 1921, a white mob attacked "Black Wall Street" in Tulsa, killing hundreds of Black people and burning over 1,400 homes and businesses.

The attack was depicted in HBO's "Watchmen" — but unlike the show, no reparations were paid in real life.

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24 May

Belarus forced a Ryanair plane to land to arrest an opposition journalist. Belarus is Europe's most dangerous place for journalists, says RSF.

Roman Protasevich mobilized protests against the president's 5th reelection. He reportedly said:

"I'll get the death penalty here."

Lithuania and some airlines say they will avoid Belarus' airspace, after it forced a Ryanair plane to land to arrest an opposition journalist.

Belarus' president, who won a 6th term in an election opposition says was rigged, ordered the flight's grounding, says state media.

UPDATE: Belarus' President Lukashenko has banned journalists from providing live coverage of protests.

Over 33,000 people were arrested at last year's protests after a disputed election gave Lukashenko a 6th term. About 30 journalists in Belarus are in jail, says a rights group.

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