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Five years ago, 32-year-old Heather Heyer was killed at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va.

Heyer was part of a crowd of counter-protesters that filled a narrow, one-way street in downtown Charlottesville when an avowed white nationalist deliberately drove into the crowd. Heyer's mom, Susan Bro, recalls how it happened.

"He sat there a minute, he backed up, and then he sped forward across two speed bumps into a crowd of counter-protesters, Bro says.

The impact sent bodies flying. Several people were injured. Heyer died.

After her daughters death, Bro started the Heather Heyer Foundation, providing scholarships to high school students wanting to continue their education. She has since shut down the foundation to focus on her health.

On how shes doing, five years after Unite the Right

I have good days and bad the month before and I wrote a piece about grief a couple of years ago, how it comes in waves. And that's typical for everybody who's lost somebody. It's not just me by any means, but sometimes the waves are really high and sometimes the waves are shallow, and sometimes you're just aware of their lapping at your ankles. But when you've lost a child, you always have that sense of loss. But you do learn to live and go on despite it. I mean, it's either that or die. And I chose not to die. I chose to keep going.

On if the city has recognized Heather at the location of her tragic death

I don't want Heather recognized anymore than she is. She got too much attention as it was. Heather was just there to walk in support that day. She was not an organizer. She simply wanted to walk in support of the young ladies in her office that day who were also marching and way too much attention has been given to Heather.

I had to fend off people who wanted a park named after her or a statue in her honor. I said, She wouldn't want it. I don't want it. I think naming the street after her is really all that needs to happen. And what we need to focus on going forward, and rightfully so, is to focus on the issues that led to her murder and that is to combat white supremacy, institutionalized white supremacy, to combat racism, to combat division [and] find ways to make life equitable for everyone.

On where Charlottesville stands in regard to equity and justice today

Struggling and struggling. I remember meeting people from Ferguson right after Heather was murdered, and I asked them, How was Ferguson doing? And they said, struggling. Ten years later, they were still struggling. And Charlottesville was doing some of that.

Housing is still a major issue for communities of color. Policing is still a major issue for communities of color. I just see all the same issues that they had before 2017 still being issues. But I will also add, I don't live here. I don't participate in government here. I read about it. I get the publications by email, but I'm not part of this community. I'm not involved.

On whether commentators who watch alt-right hate and extremism for a living are making it more mainstream

Oh, yeah fully intentional. And they make no bones about it.

On how she thinks Charlottesville fits into it the state of extremism in the U.S. today

Movements like these tend to arise when communities are frustrated economically and they start looking for excuses and people to blame. They start looking for scapegoats. We've seen this pattern again and again in history. And then people are all too eager to follow somebody else's solution.

On finding hope

Well, I'm hoping that this is the farthest that the pendulum swings. Moving forward, we've got to find a way to make it more equitable for everyone. We still have a long way to go with that."

On spending the rest of her life as Heather Heyers mom and if it comes with a burden

[Its]funny because when I taught school, she said I'm always Miss Heyer's daughter well, she's got it even now.

I have loved meeting people. I have loved traveling. I have loved being able to make a difference in the world. But it was the cost of someone so dear to me that I would rather have her back than have any of that happen. But I don't want to take away the good in the world that it caused to her murderer. It did serious harm to the white supremacy movement for a while, and in some aspects it's still doing that. Not just her murder, but the car attack and the whole weekend. You know, there are people still being sued. Heck, I've still got a lawsuit going. I'm not looking for any money out of it, just trying to stop people from doing stuff.

On what she sees when she looks at the world through Heather's eyes

Oh, she's always skeptical. She's always prodding people. Like I said, she's not quiet. She's not. She has a rest in peace. She rests in power. I often hear from people that they got this nudge from Heather or that nudge from Heather or they felt like something came together because of Heather.

James Perkins Mastromarino and Jorgelina Manna-Rea produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Catherine Welch. Welch also adapted it for the web.

Original post:
Five years after her daughter's death at the Unite the Right rally, Heather Heyer's mother reflects - WBUR News

Ahead of Wyoming's primary election on Tuesday, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) released her final campaign ad video, which sounds more like a concession speech. Cheney's numbers have been trailing in the polls, likely a symptom of her unrelenting pursuit of former president Donald Trump in the January 6 hearings.

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The incumbent has been in office since 2016, and she has served as the sole House representative from Wyoming. A poll from Thursday shows Cheney with 28% support from voters, while 57% support rival Harriet Hageman.

Her final campaign ad focuses on lies circulating since the 2020 election and the importance of upholding American democracy, somewhat reminiscent of her stance in the January 6 hearings. America cannot remain free if we abandon the truth, Cheney said. The lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen is insidious, it preys on those who love their country, it is a door Donald Trump opened to manipulate Americans to abandon their principles, to sacrifice their freedom, to justify violence, to ignore the rulings of our courts and the rule of law.

The New York Times pointed out that Trump won 70% of the vote in Wyoming in the 2020 election. Despite this, Cheney has left no room for doubt in her condemnation of the former president's inaction during the Capitol attack in the January 6 investigation, and was one of only 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump a second time. Consequently, Trump has made defeating Cheney a top priority for any and all politicians wanting his coveted alt-right endorsement.

If the cost of standing up for the Constitution is losing the House seat, then thats a price Im willing to pay, Cheney said earlier this month.

See the original post:
That's A Price I'm Willing To Pay: Wyoming's Rep. Liz Cheney Emphasizes Role In Jan. 6 Investigation And Expected Loss Ahead Of Tuesday's Primary -...

Happy weekend, all.

Last August, theWolf administrationannouncedthat it would opt-in to the American Rescue Plans optional Medicaid expansion, increasing the length of postpartum coverage from 60 days to one year.

This week, state officials gathered in Pittsburgh to reaffirm that resources and options are available to mothers and pregnant people amid a confusingpost-Roe v. Wadeclimate.

With the overturning ofRoe v. Wade, we know that many people are confused and worried about getting the reproductive health care they need and deserve to keep themselves and their families healthy,Department of Human Services acting Secretary Meg Snead said.

DHS, which administers the commonwealths Medicaid program, said that those in need can access free or reduced-cost reproductive health care, includingbirth control, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), screening and education for some types of cancer, and counseling from a health care provider about pregnancy, such aspreparing for pregnancy, preventing unintended pregnancies, and enabling individuals to control the timing and spacing of pregnancies.

We are here to tell all Pennsylvanians: whatever stage you are at in your life, there is safe, affordable reproductive, perinatal, and postpartum health care available, Snead said.

Acting Secretary of the Department of Health and Pennsylvania Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson said the expanded Medicaid access is an effort by the administration to address barriers to access and the commonwealths high maternal mortality rate.

The maternal mortality rates of people of color continue to rise and to reverse that trend we must stress that reproductive health care resources are available to keep those who are pregnant healthy and safe, Johnson said.

In Pennsylvania, the overall maternal mortality rate is82 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the Department of Health.For people of color, the mortality rate is163 per 100,000 live births.

We are the only industrialized nation where pregnant people are dying at a higher rate than they were 25 years ago, Snead said, adding that Black women bare the heaviest burden of this tragedy.

Sydney Etheredge, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania,said that increased coverage, including Medicaid, will help people access the care they need.

Medical care at any point prior to, during, and post-pregnancy, no matter what outcome the patient chooses, is essential and should be within reach for people in the Commonwealth, Etheredge said. Socioeconomic barriers, like cost, prevent people from obtaining the care they need, which is why we are encouraged by the expansion of Medicaid postpartum and look to further increases in coverage in the future.

As always, the top five stories from this week are below.

1.Wolf admin. encourages parents, guardians to update immunizations for children ahead of school year

With the 2022-23 school year set to begin for many schools across Pennsylvania in the next few weeks, state officials are encouraging parents and guardians to make sure their children are up-to-date on their immunizations.

Students and educators are preparing for the beginning of a new school year and opportunities to teach, learn, and grow together in classrooms across the commonwealth, acting Education Secretary Eric Hagarty said. As part of back-to-school preparations, I encourage families to ensure their childrens immunizations are up to date.

To attend K-12 school, children in Pennsylvania need the following immunizations: tetanus, diphtheria, polio, MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), hepatitis B, and chickenpox. Additionally, kids entering seventh grade also need meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV) and tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) immunizations.

2.Brittney Griner will be released in about 30 days, not 9 years | Michael Coard

When Brittney Griner, the 31-year-old WNBA Phoenix Mercury All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-year veteran of a Russian womens basketball club, was sentenced to nine years in prison and fined $16,400 Thursday after kinda-sorta pleading guilty to bringing less than one gram of cannabis oil through the Moscow airport, almost everyone was shocked that she received such a harsh sentence.

But, in the words of Public Enemy, Dont believe the hype!

Shes not gonna do nine years, or nine months or even nine weeks. Instead, I personally believe based on the analyses of international political science scholars that shes gonna do approximately 30 days or less.

3.New Pa. budget includes $140M boost to states Property Tax/Rent Rebate program

Inflation is causing price hikes all around Pennsylvania, but the new state budget is looking to ease one cost for the elderly and people living with disabilities.

The $45.2 billion state budget that Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law last week, providing a $140 million increase to the states Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program, an action that will expand payments by 70 percent for one year.

Pennsylvanians living with a disability, widows who are aged 50 and older and general residents 65 or older can qualify. The program has income limits, excluding half of Social Security income, for homeowners with an annual income under $35,000 or renters that earn under $15,000 annually.

4.Study: Drilling wastewater on Pa. roads dangerous to human health, environment

A long-anticipated health study commissioned by Pennsylvania environmental officials examined the practice of spreading wastewater from conventional gas and oil drilling on thousands of miles of rural dirt roads in the state. Researchers concluded that the practice doesnt control dust effectively and poses dangers to the environment and human health.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has not yet acted based on those findings but said that the studys impact will be immediate, large and intense.

While we must be willing to accept the trade-offs between the benefits of dust suppression and the drawback of environmental impacts, this research has found that oil and wastewaters only provide drawbacks, said William Burgos, a professor of environmental engineering at Penn State University and one of the lead authors of the study.

5.What is Gab? A look at the far-right social media platform backing Doug Mastriano

Its been referred to as a haven for white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Its been linked to Pennsylvanias Republican gubernatorial nominee, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who has paid the platform for advertising. And it has been the focus of ire from state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the states Jewish Democratic nominee for governor, who has criticized his opponent for courting antisemitic, racist, alt-right extremists on the platform.

So what exactly is Gab, the conservative, Pennsylvania-based social media platform and how does it factor into Pennsylvanias race for governor? Below, City & State walks through the history of the social media platform, the type of content that appears on the site and how the platform and its founder have become a topic of conversation in the states midterm election for governor.

And thats the week. Well see you back here next week.

Read more:
State officials reaffirm access to reproductive health services post-Roe | Five for the Weekend - Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Brenan Riffel is a graduate student studying higher education administration at the University of Kansas, where she serves as both an academic advisor and assistant complex director.

I truly believe that people in their very nature are good. I believe that all of us are filled with love and compassion.

However, we have been conditioned and taught that we have to understand before we can show compassion. Our social and political climate has ingrained in us that conceding or admitting to not understanding something is losing ground. Examine the political rhetoric today, and you will see what I mean.

There is this idea that liberals and conservatives are in competition with each other, which is not unfounded or untrue. However, our fight for our ideals isnt because both groups are pushing further and further to the extremes of the political spectrum. Its because rather than being progressive and open-minded, weve created a system where the loudest and angriest bunch win.

Debates are no longer tied to who brings up the better points. Instead, we focus on who can control the conversation. Right now, the alt-right is screaming the loudest, while stripping away our basic human rights. Many of us are angry, upset and distraught.

This is not the end.

Yes, our rights are being threatened, but not all is lost. We can get riled up, too. We can pour our compassion and love into a fervor that shouts loudly into our government offices at our city, state and national levels. We have to activate and mobilize in a way that is most American with our voices and with our votes, not with a petty, violent attack on our capitol.

We have to shift our attention. We cannot waste time entertaining those who have no intention of opening their world view. We have to prevent misinformation and call it out when we see it.

We may be walking through a downpour of toxic vitriol, but a storm can only last for so long.

Yes, our rights are being threatened, but not all is lost. We can get riled up, too. We can pour our compassion and love into a fervor that shouts loudly into our government offices at our city, state and national levels.

The most imperative thing for the future of Kansas and for our country is to promote and spread messages of unity and teach others to do the same. We cannot look forward to a future in which we entertain or give credence to messages of discord and dissonance.

Our country was built with systems of inequality purposefully put in place. One of the most patriotic things you can do is be critical of your country. Since our countrys founding, our Constitution and laws have been amended and expanded to include more and more people.

Is it perfect? No.

Does it still exclude and create a system that privileges some and diminishes others? Yes.

Does that mean we should stop working on it? Absolutely not.

We may not get things right on our first go, but that doesnt mean we should stop improving our laws and each other.

Including others does not take away from your own personal liberties. Womens (or transmasc and nonbinary folx- anyone with the capability of becoming pregnant) ability to make medical decisions for themselves does not take away from your own personal liberties to make decisions for your body.

When I buy a skirt and a blouse and wear them outside, that does not take away from your personal choice to wear whatever you want.

We must strive for choice, and we must strive for compassion. We need to teach that it is OK to be wrong, and it is OK to change your mind.

We dont have time to attack each other. If we keep attacking each other, we are going to run out of time to protect ourselves. The issue isnt that we dont care about each other, but that we allow feelings of fear and hate to guide us rather than compassion and love we have for each other. We must show that compassion and unity will prevail, and we must show this through civic engagement.

As some of you may know, Im a fairly nerdy person. I hope to continue writing opinion pieces for Kansas Reflector and feel the need to close out this piece with a quote that feels inspirational for these times.

Good is good in the final hour in the deepest pit without hope, without witness, without reward. Virtue is only virtue in extremis. River Song, Doctor Who

In these extreme times, remain virtuous, remain kind, and remember unity.

Kansas needs unity, our country needs kindness and our kids need a compassionate future.

Through its opinion section, the Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary,here.

See the original post here:
In an environment of threats and fear, Kansans have the chance to create a more loving state - Kansas Reflector

WASHINGTON For weeks, Stephen K. Bannon, a former top adviser to President Donald J. Trump, delivered heated speeches about his pending trial, promising at one point to go medieval on the prosecutors who had charged him with refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

But once in court, he decided not to testify or mount any other sort of defense, and on Friday, Mr. Bannon was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress.

The jurys verdict, reached after less than three hours of deliberations, came one day after video of Mr. Bannon briefly appeared in a public hearing of the House committee he had snubbed. Investigators played a clip of him saying that Mr. Trump had planned to declare victory in the 2020 election, no matter what the results were.

Mr. Bannon, 68, remained defiant in remarks outside the courthouse, saying the prosecutions assertion that he had chosen allegiance to Donald Trump over compliance with the law was correct, but omitted an important detail.

I stand with Trump and the Constitution, Mr. Bannon said. I will never back off that.

On Fox News later on Friday, Mr. Bannon lashed out at the committee, calling for the defeat of its members and an investigation of its staff. I would tell the Jan. 6 staff right now: Preserve your documents, Mr. Bannon said, because theres going to be a real committee once Republicans take power in Congress.

Judge Carl J. Nichols set a sentencing date in late October, but David I. Schoen, a lawyer for Mr. Bannon, said his client would appeal the guilty verdict.

Mr. Bannons conviction was the latest turn in a tumultuous political career that over the years saw him take a leading role in bringing together right-wing media, presidential politics and America First-style populism. He helped found the website Breitbart News, which he once described as a platform for the alt-right, a loosely affiliated collection of racists, misogynists and Islamophobes that rose to prominence around the time of Mr. Trumps first campaign.

Beginning in 2016, Mr. Bannon served as the campaigns chief architect, helping Mr. Trump craft his divisive, populist message. He was brought into the White House after Mr. Trumps victory to work as a strategist and senior counselor to the president, but lasted only seven months before returning to Breitbart.

Mr. Trump ultimately pardoned Mr. Bannon in his final hours in office.

After Mr. Trumps defeat in the 2020 election, Mr. Bannon once again came to his aid. He worked with Peter Navarro, a White House adviser, to devise a strategy to keep the president in office that they called the Green Bay Sweep. The plan called for Republican members of the House and Senate to block the counting of Electoral College votes on Jan. 6, 2021, so that lawmakers in key swing states could decertify the vote results in their states and hand Mr. Trump a victory.

Making a case against Trump. The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack is laying out a comprehensive narrativeof President Donald J. Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Here are the main themes that have emerged so far from eight public hearings:

Mr. Bannons conviction was the first of a close aide to Mr. Trump to result from one of the chief investigations into the Capitol attack. Mr. Navarro has also been charged with contempt after defying a subpoena from the House committee and is scheduled to go on trial in November.

Mr. Bannon, who left the White House in 2017, was indicted last November. He has remained free without bail, as prosecutors did not ask the court to detain him.

Contempt of Congress is a misdemeanor, with each count punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 and a maximum of 12 months in prison. At the time, the filing of charges against him was widely seen as proof that the Justice Department could take an aggressive stance against some of Mr. Trumps top allies as the House seeks to develop a fuller picture of the actions of the former president and his inner circle before and during the attack.

Despite the legal wranglings that preceded his trial, Mr. Bannons guilt or innocence ultimately turned on a straightforward question: whether he had defied the House committee by flouting its subpoena. This case is not complicated, but it is important, Molly Gaston, a federal prosecutor, said in a closing statement on Friday.

Ms. Gaston told the jury that the House committee had wanted to ask Mr. Bannon about his presence at the Willard Hotel before the Capitol attack, where plans to overturn the election were discussed, and about his statement the day before the assault that all hell was going to break loose on Jan. 6.

But, she argued, Mr. Bannon had blatantly disregarded the committees demands in order to protect his former boss.

During his own summation, M. Evan Corcoran, one of Mr. Bannons lawyers, sought to argue that the subpoena his client had received had been improperly signed by the committee, adding for the jury that Mr. Bannon had not intentionally failed to comply with it. Mr. Corcoran also noted, trying to suggest a whiff of impropriety, that a prosecutor on the case and one of the governments witnesses had belonged to the same book club.

Before court started on Friday, Mr. Bannons legal team made a written request to Judge Nichols to ask the jurors if they had watched what the team described as the highly inflammatory segment of the prime-time committee hearing on Thursday that had featured Mr. Bannon. But Judge Nichols declined to poll the jurors.

Like many defendants, Mr. Bannon did not mount a defense case for the jury, deciding instead to rely on cross-examining the prosecutions two witnesses: a lawyer for the committee and an F.B.I. agent who had worked on the case.

Last week, the lawyers suggested that Mr. Bannon might take the stand, but in the end he decided against testifying.

Testimony in the trial ended on Wednesday as the prosecution rested its case against Mr. Bannon, arguing that he had willfully ignored the subpoena for both records and testimony even after being warned that he could face criminal charges.

The proceeding came down to the simple fact that Mr. Bannon had thumbed his nose at the law, prosecutors said.

Mr. Bannons lawyers countered that the deadlines set by the committee to receive their clients testimony and documents were flexible, one of the few lines of argument Judge Nichols had left open to the defense. In pretrial rulings, Judge Nichols had said that the lawyers were not allowed to argue to the jury that Mr. Bannon had received legal advice to disregard the subpoena or claim that Mr. Trump had personally authorized him to do so.

Mr. Bannon has a full story for why he didnt show up his advice of counsel, the invocation of executive privilege, questions about its validity and so on, Mr. Schoen, the lawyer for Mr. Bannon, argued in court this week before the trial had begun. All of these defenses and his story of the case have been barred by the court at the governments request.

With his options limited, Mr. Corcoran contended during the trial that the subpoena and the prosecutions case itself were politically motivated.

Before the trial began, Mr. Bannon reversed course and offered to testify before the Jan. 6 committee. But prosecutors have portrayed that move as a last-ditch attempt to avoid the charges.

Judge Nichols also denied multiple requests from the defense to delay the trial, first stemming from concerns that the public hearings held by the Jan. 6 committee and continuous news coverage of the trial would taint the jury pool and later because the defense said it was unprepared to argue its case after the constraints Judge Nichols had placed on its potential arguments.

Read the rest here:
Steve Bannon Found Guilty of Contempt Related to Jan. 6 Inquiry - The New York Times