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CLEVELAND (AP) Amid relentless sunshine and intensifying humidity, Nina Turner led a small procession of voters last week to a polling place on Clevelands east side, guiding the group down a long block to the crosswalk even though darting across the street would have been easier.

We dont want you breaking the law, an aide admonished. Lets go down to the light.

Turner built a national reputation as a leading voice for Bernie Sanders presidential campaigns, bringing crowds in packed auditoriums to their feet with rousing calls for universal health care and bold action to combat climate change. But as she faces an election of her own next month, Turner is focused on more mundane aspects of campaigning, like avoiding jaywalking as she encourages supporters to vote and offering reassurances that her brand of politics still has a place in the Democratic Party.

Something I can add, whether mainline Democrats get this or not, is I can speak the language of people from all walks of life, Turner said in an interview. That is important for the expansion of the Democratic Party.

Turner is the best known of more than a dozen Democrats vying to replace former Rep. Marcia Fudge, who left Congress to become President Joe Bidens housing chief. The Aug. 3 primary is shaping up as one of the final tests this year for progressives, who have faced setbacks in other races, including Democratic primaries for Virginia governor and New York mayor.

With just a six-seat advantage in the House, some Democrats are taking aggressive steps to blunt Turner and back more centrist alternatives.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking Black member of Congress, whose support helped Biden secure the Democratic nomination last year, is backing county councilwoman Shontel Brown over Turner. Hillary Clinton, the political arm of the Congressional Black Caucus, several leading unions and more than 100 local leaders are doing the same.

Federal rules prohibit Fudge from endorsing in the race, but her mother appeared in a commercial for Brown.

While the contest is emerging as a proxy for the future of the Democratic Party, local leaders say voters are more worried about issues like creating jobs, addressing crime and improving access to health care, which remains elusive for many, despite Clevelands high concentration of major hospital chains.

People are trying to make this like its moderate versus progressive. I dont see it that way, said Cleveland Councilman Blaine Griffin, who has endorsed Turner but is friends with everyone running. He added that, regardless of ideology, no one likes poverty, speeding cars down the street, bad roads or bridges.

The district is shaped like a hatchet with an oversize head, snaking from Cleveland to Akron, nearly 40 miles to the south. The population is 53% African American, and nearly a quarter of residents live in poverty. The winner of the primary in the solidly blue district will likely cruise to victory in Novembers general election.

A 53-year-old community college professor, Turner served on the Cleveland City Council, was a state senator and ran unsuccessfully for Ohio secretary of state before crisscrossing the country with Sanders during his 2016 and 2020 presidential bids.

Her signature phrase, Hello, somebody! became a campaign fixture, prompting crowds across the country to yell back with delight. But those who worked with Turner years ago in Cleveland remember her for another catchphrase, Do you feel me? which she first used addressing audiences of otherwise unresponsive young people.

As she talks to voters, Turner explains her support for universal health insurance coverage under Medicare for All by pointing to the experience of her mother, who was uninsured and died when she was just 42. Turner also says she wants student debt eradicated because she knows its sting: She and her son owe nearly $100,000 combined in loans shes still paying off.

But the hard-fought presidential primary between Biden and Sanders has left some lingering resentments. The advocacy group Democratic Majority for Israel has produced ads seizing on Turner once likening supporting Biden to being forced to eat excrement.

Brown has pointed to such moments to argue that she will be able to accomplish far more, far quicker in Washington.

I dont have to start with a long letter of apology, Brown said from her campaign office in a onetime pet store. I can just walk in the door with good relationships and get to work on behalf of the constituents.

The Rev. Aaron Phillips, executive director of the Cleveland Clergy Coalition, blames Sanders and Turner for so dividing Democrats, which he says helped Republican Donald Trump win the presidency in 2016.

Brown, meanwhile, has been a faithful Democrat all of her life, Phillips said. She has never varied.

Turner says she remains a proud progressive. And while some like-minded candidates havent won their races lately, she said they are nonetheless moving the narrative in this country. The cargo van that serves as her mobile campaign office is emblazoned with the slang phrase corporate Democrat want a puppet.

As Turner briefly hung out in the vans shade after the walk to the polling place, Sam Cookes Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha blared over the speakers, and she started dancing.

I can do this. But no singing, she said, laughing. There are people with that talent. I am not one of them.

The Rev. Regis Bunch of Clevelands Fifth Christian Church said Turner makes personal connections with voters and insisted most arent scared away by big progressive goals, which he said are not as far off as many believe.

We need something more wide than this liberal paradigm weve been living in, said Bunch, 34, who said he supported Sanders in the primary and only voted for Biden last fall by force.

Turner nonetheless denies that shell be a congressional provocateur, arguing that she worked well with both parties in the state Legislature. Shes also aired TV ads promoting her past work as the Ohio Democratic Party engagement chair.

Brown counters that she can actually achieve the kind of bipartisanship Turner only talks about.

I feel like the all or nothing approach ends up with nothing. So we have to be able to find compromise, she said. Being a partner doesnt mean being a puppet.

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Democratic primary in Ohio emerges as test for progressives - Associated Press

Progressives perked up after hearing President BidenJoe BidenDemocrats reach deal on .5T price tag for infrastructure bill Texas family arrested for role in Capitol riot Key Senate Democrats undecided on Biden's ATF nominee MORE call passing sweeping voting rights legislation known as the For the People Act a national imperative in a speech from Philadelphia.

Now they say they are awaiting his next steps on Capitol Hill.

In an address from the National Constitution Center on Tuesday, Biden delivered what Democratic lawmakers and liberal activists had been pleading with him to give for weeks: a strongly worded warning of the fragility of voting rights in America.

I will sign it and let the whole world see it, Biden declared about the voting rights measure.

But a number of Democrats have been disappointed that Biden hasnt used his platform to pressure Democratic senators to end the legislative filibuster.

Without such a change, the For the People Act will not reach his desk.

Biden has not signaled an interest in pressuring Democrats such as Sens. Joe ManchinJoe ManchinDemocrats reach deal on .5T price tag for infrastructure bill Key Senate Democrats undecided on Biden's ATF nominee On The Money: Inflation spike puts Biden on defensive | Senate Democrats hit spending speed bumps | Larry Summers huddles with WH team MORE (W.Va.) and Kyrsten SinemaKyrsten SinemaDemocrats reach deal on .5T price tag for infrastructure bill Key Senate Democrats undecided on Biden's ATF nominee Democrats under new pressure to break voting rights stalemate MORE (Ariz.), who oppose ending the filibuster. Democrats would need all their members in the Senate to back ending the procedure to kill it.

He did not mention the filibuster, so thats a little disappointing, said Vicki Miller, group leader of the Philadelphia chapter of Indivisible. She marched outside the venue with members of her organization while listening to Biden speak from her cellphone.

If he came out strongly that the Senate needs to do filibuster reform, that would be so persuasive to Democratic senators. He knows them all, she said.

Im interested to see where he goes from here. This is just a start. It needs to get a lot stronger, Miller added.

Questions about how seriously the White House had been taking voting rights had been mounting for much of the spring and into the summer.

Gearing up for his speech, Biden had ground to make up with many on the left who had criticized the administration over what they view as insufficient attention on the issue.

One source briefed on a private discussion between White House officials and activists last week said there was an impression left on some progressives that the For the People Act had fallen to the back burner and that it was not an urgent matter for the administration ahead of the midterms.

Biden sought to tamp down such skepticism with his speech and warned that we have to prepare now for raw and sustained election subversion in 2022.

He also denounced false claims from former President TrumpDonald TrumpTexas family arrested for role in Capitol riot Poll: McAuliffe holds 2-point lead over Youngkin in Virginia governor's race On The Money: Inflation spike puts Biden on defensive | Senate Democrats hit spending speed bumps | Larry Summers huddles with WH team MORE and others that massive fraud took place in last years elections.

The 2020 election was the most scrutinized election ever in American history, Biden said. The big lie is just that: a big lie, he added to applause.

While progressive activists who spoke to The Hill were relieved that Biden delivered a call to action on the national stage, the presidents speech is unlikely to quash their angst.

While we appreciate the remarks and we applaud the efforts so far, we need to see the president and the vice president to use the full force of the presidential office to see the For the People Act across the finish line, said Jana Morgan, who directs the progressive network Declaration for American Democracy.

The Rev. Al Sharpton told The Associated Press that he and the president chatted after he spoke. I said to him I thought it was a good speech. I was very happy to hear him bring up race. But were still waiting on the filibuster, the civil rights leader told the outlet.

He told me: Were still working on our position on that. He was noncommittal, Sharpton added.

One of Biden closest confidants, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), told Politico over the weekend that the president could easily call Manchin and tell him, Hey, we should do a carveout, referencing a way to reform the rule.

Texas Democratic lawmakers who left their state for Washington, D.C., to prevent the state legislature from passing a restrictive voting measure echoed Clyburns message. They are expected to meet with Manchin directly as well as Vice President Harris.

We need to hear from the Oval Office, from the president, from the vice president, who hes assigned to work on this, that nothing can stand in the way, Morgan said.

Its great to hear him call it a national imperative, and now we want to see him turn those words into actions by working with Senate Democrats to do whatever is necessary to get this bill to his desk,Morgan added.

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Biden speech unlikely to quash progressive angst | TheHill - The Hill

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is hearing from her left flank about climate spending they want in the Democratic reconciliation package.

Driving the news: 11 progressive House Democrats led by Rep. Cori Bush, in a new letter first obtained by CBS, call for various provisions, including "$250 billion in climate and environmental justice funding for local governments" and $1 trillion to "build public renewables with union labor."

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They also want $600 billion in various transit, rail, EV and other transportation finance and $132 billion for a "Civilian Climate Corps."

Writers of the letter include Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and the rest of "The Squad," as well as House Progressive Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal.

The big picture: The proposed spending would go beyond even what the White House first proposed in March, let alone the much smaller sums for clean energy and climate in the bipartisan infrastructure framework.

Quick take: The letter signals how Democrats will face big hurdles crafting a reconciliation measure that can unite their caucus, which has razor-thin margins in both chambers.

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House progressives reveal the climate spending they want in Democratic reconciliation package - Yahoo News

Andrew Trunsky

Eric Adams became the latest moderate Democrat to triumph among a field of far more liberal candidates, pointing to a recent trend of the partys most reliable voters bucking progressives for those holding more centrist views despite their lower profile.

Adams, the Brooklyn Borough President and a former NYPD officer, centered his campaign around lowering the citys rising crime rate and improving not defunding its police department. His message led him to win every borough except Manhattan, the wealthiest of the citys five, even as he had exponentially fewer Twitter followers than some of his rivals and the prominent progressives who endorsed them.

Adamswon the Democratic primarywith just over 50% of the vote after the ranked-choice voting process concluded, but was ranked third on over 30% of ballots among the eight-candidate field. Maya Wiley, the leading progressive candidate in New York Citys mayoral race, ultimately finished third.

His win follows moderate victories in Democratic congressional and gubernatorial primaries across the country. Special elections inLouisianaandNew Mexicosaw low-profile, pragmatic moderates prevail over progressive challengers and Republicans alike, despite the districts encompassing New Orleans and Albuquerque, each states largest city, respectively.

In Virginia, former establishment Gov. Terry McAuliffesailedthrough his Democratic primary in June, winning over 60% of the vote across the five-candidate field.

The wins come less than a year after President Joe Biden defeated more liberal opponents in the Democratic primaries, ultimately winning Novembers election with a constituencydisproportionately relianton married men and veteran households both moderate to conservative groups as well as progressive voters.

Many moderate Democrats in Congress attributed Republicansunexpected gainsin the House tounpopular progressive policiesthat mobilized swing constituencies in competitive districts.

We almost lost races we shouldnt have lost. Defund the police almost cost me my race because of an attack ad. Dont ever say socialism ever again, Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, whose district extends rural and exurban Virginia to Richmond, the state capital,reportedly saidin November. If we run this race again we will get fucking torn apart again in 2022.

Some progressives already holding citywide offices have faced pushback as well, especially in cities facing rising crime. Progressive district attorneys in both San Francisco and Los Angeles are facing recall efforts, joined by none other than California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, whom over a dozen Republicans arevying to unseatdespite the state being one of the most liberal in the country.

California voters last November alsorejectedan effort to reinstate affirmative action, shooting down Proposition 16 by over 10 points as it voted for Biden by nearly 30. Voters in Washington, another liberal state, opted torepeal four separate tax increasesas Biden beat former President Donald Trump by 20.

Progressives have not come up short in every recent election. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman all ousted high-profile, veteran moderates in 2018 and 2020. In May, Philadelphias progressive district attorney, Larry Krasner,cruised to all but certain reelectionafter beating his police-backed challenger, while across the state in Pittsburgh progressive state Rep. Ed Gainey ousted Bill Peduto, the citys incumbent Democratic mayor.

Late last month, self-described socialist India Waltonousted incumbent Mayor Byron Brown, though Brown did not help himself by continuously discounting her campaign andrefusingto debate her in the weeks before the election.

Adams ultimately credited his win in Americas largest city not to his refusal to adopt sweeping points like defund the police or Medicare-for-All, but to his on-the-ground, kitchen table campaign that ultimately secured votes from progressives, moderates and conservatives alike.

Social media does not pick a candidate, Adams said after the election kicked off on June 22. People on social security pick a candidate. I dont care about what people tweet. I care about the people I meet on the street.

Android Users,Click Here To Download The Free Press AppAnd Never Miss A Story. Its Free And Coming To Apple Users Soon.

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Eric Adams Shows Yet Again That Progressives Dominate The Dialogue, Only To Lose Elections - The Free Press

Fresh evidence of harrowing violations, including sexual violence, against men, women and children intercepted while crossing the Mediterranean Sea and forcibly returned to detention centres in Libya, highlights the horrifying consequences of Europes ongoing cooperation with Libya on migration and border control, said Amnesty International in a report published today.

'No one will look for you': Forcibly returned from sea to abusive detention in Libya documents how decade-long violations against refugees and migrants continued unabated in Libyan detention centres during the first six months of 2021 despite repeated promises to address them.

The report also found that since late 2020 Libyas Directorate for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM), a department of the interior ministry, had legitimized abuse by integrating two new detention centres under its structure where hundreds of refugees and migrants had been forcibly disappeared in previous years by militias. At one recently rebranded centre, survivors said guards raped women and subjected them to sexual violence including by coercing them into sex in exchange for food or their freedom.

This horrifying report sheds new light on the suffering of people intercepted at sea and returned to Libya, where they are immediately funnelled into arbitrary detention and systematically subjected to torture, sexual violence, forced labour and other exploitation with total impunity. Meanwhile, Libyan authorities have rewarded those reasonably suspected of committing such violations with positions of power and higher ranks, meaning that we risk seeing the same horrors reproduced again and again.

The report also highlights the ongoing complicity of European states that have shamefully continued to enable and assist Libyan coastguards in capturing people at sea and forcibly returning them to the hellscape of detention in Libya, despite knowing full well the horrors they will endure.

Amnesty International is calling on European states to suspend cooperation on migration and border control with Libya. This week Italys parliament will debate the continuation of their provision of military support and resources to Libyan coastguards.

The report details the experiences of 53 refugees and migrants previously detained in centresnominally under the control of DCIM, 49 of whom were detained directly following their interceptions at sea.

Libyan authorities have vowed to close DCIM centres rife with abuse, but similar patterns of violations have been reproduced in newly opened or re-opened centres. In an illustration of entrenched impunity, informal sites of captivity originally run by non-DCIM affiliated militias have been legitimized and integrated into the DCIM. In 2020, hundreds of people disembarked in Libya had been forcibly disappeared at an informal site, then controlled by a militia. Since then, Libyan authorities have integrated the site into the DCIM, named it the Tripoli Gathering and Return Centre, colloquially known as Al-Mabani, and also put the former director and other staff of the now-closed Tajoura DCIM centre in charge. Tajoura, which was notorious for torture and other ill-treatment, was ordered closed in August 2019, a month after airstrikes that killed at least 53 detainees.

Ongoing abuse in Libyan detention centres

In the first half of 2021, more than 7,000 people intercepted at sea were forcibly returned to Al-Mabani. Detainees held there told Amnesty International they faced torture and other ill-treatment, cruel and inhuman detention conditions, extortion and forced labour. Some also reported being subjected to invasive, humiliating and violent strip-searches.

Tripolis Shara al-Zawiya centre is a facility which was also previously run by non-affiliated militias and was recently integrated under DCIM and designated for people in vulnerable situations. Former detainees there said that guards raped women and some were coerced into sex in exchange for their release or for essentials such as clean water. Grace said she was heavily beaten for refusing to comply with such a demand: I told [the guard] no. He used a gun to knock me back. He used a leather soldiers shoe to [kick] me from my waist.

Two young women at the facility attempted to commit suicide as a result of such abuse.

Three women also said that two babies detained with their mothers after an attempted sea crossing had died in early 2021 after guards refused to transfer them to hospital for critical medical treatment.

Amnesty Internationals report documents similar patterns of human rights violations, including severe beatings, sexual violence, extortion, forced labour, and inhuman conditions across seven DCIM centres in Libya. In Abu Issa centre in the city of al-Zawiya, detainees reported being deprived of nutritious food to the point of starvation.

In Al-Mabani and two other DCIM centres, Amnesty International documented the unlawful use of lethal force when guards and other armed men shot at detainees, causing deaths and injuries.

The entire network of Libyan migration detention centres is rotten to its core and must be dismantled. Libyan authorities must close all migration detention facilities immediately and stop detaining refugees and migrants.

Libyan rescue missions endangering lives

Between January and June 2021,the EU-backed Libyan coastguards intercepted around 15,000 people at sea and returned them to Libya more than in all of 2020 during what they describe as rescue missions.

People interviewed by Amnesty International consistently described Libyan coastguards conduct as negligent and abusive. Survivors described how Libyan coastguards deliberately damaged their boats, in some cases causing them to capsize, leading refugees and migrants to drown on at least two occasions. One eyewitness said after Libyan coastguards caused a dinghy to capsize, they filmed the incident with their phones instead of instead of rescuing all survivors. Over 700 refugees and migrants drowned along the central Mediterranean Sea route in the first six months of 2021.

Refugees and migrants told Amnesty International that as they attempted sea crossings, they frequently saw aircraft overhead or ships nearby that did not offer them assistance before the Libyan coastguards arrival.

Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard agency, has carried out aerial surveillance over the Mediterranean to identify refugee and migrants boats at sea and has operated a drone over this route since May 2021. European navies have largely abandoned the central Mediterranean to avoid having to rescue refugee and migrants boats in distress.

Italy and other EU member states have also continued to grant material assistance, including speedboats, to Libyan coastguards and are working to establish a maritime coordination centre in Tripolis port, mostly funded by the EU Trust Fund for Africa.

Despite overwhelming evidence of reckless, negligent and unlawful behaviour by Libyan coastguards at sea and systematic violations in detention centres after disembarkation, European partners have continued to support Libyan coastguards to forcibly return people to the very abuse they fled in Libya, said Diana Eltahawy.

Its well past time for European states to acknowledge the indefensible consequences of their actions. They must suspend cooperationon migration and border control with Libya and instead open urgently needed pathways to safety for the thousands in need of protection currently trapped there.

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For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: press@amnesty.org or call +44 20 7413 5566

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Libya: Horrific violations in detention highlight Europe's shameful role in forced returns - Amnesty International