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In 2020 and early 2021 alone, more than 30 states passed at least 140 new police oversight and reform laws. In total, seven states have mandated the use of body cameras, five states have limited qualified immunity for officers (Colorado and New Mexico eliminated it), and at least 24 states have passed legislation restricting neck restraints.

Even before 2020, there were nationwide pushes for the use of body cameras by officers and to have cameras installed and operational on their vehicles.

Black Lives Matter has also experienced a backlash. Resentments always bubble to the surface when a movement experiences some success, and racists rise up to repel its advances. But thats not what Im talking about. The backlash that always feels like betrayal is the shifting of allegiances among supposed allies, the people who are with you only up to a point, the point at which your liberation threatens their privilege.

The same dynamic played out during the civil rights movement. A New York Times survey, conducted in the months following the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, found that a majority of white New Yorkers, a supposedly liberal bastion, believed the Negro civil rights movement had gone too far. Some of the respondents spoke of Black people getting everything on a silver platter and of reverse discrimination against white people.

When the Kerner Commission released its 1968 report pointing out inequality, highlighting the pernicious nature of police brutality and pushing the Johnson administration to invest heavily in improving Black peoples living conditions, Congress refused to act on any of those recommendations. Nor did it advance police reform alongside socioeconomic improvement, as the Black community wanted. Instead, as the Marshall Projects Nicole Lewis has written, the federal government responded by equipping police with new tools to control violent expressions of civil unrest.

Today, Democrats are once again shrinking from or, in some cases, running from police reform in the face of rising violent crime data, worried about being labeled soft on crime, or worse, a defund-the-police pusher.

And thats only part of the backlash. Elsewhere, conservatives have made inroads in swing districts by stoking the Critical Race Theory panic, which is an attack on history and the teaching of it. Republican lawmakers have also sought to clamp down on peaceful protests. According to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, since 2017, 45 states have considered 245 bills that would restrict the right to peaceful assembly. Thirty-six of those bills passed. Some of them would protect drivers who hit protesters with their cars on public streets.

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Opinion | Barack Obama: What Trayvon Martin Taught Us, 10 Years Later - The New York Times

Before I get to the heart of todays newsletter, I want to share three things Im watching in Russias war on Ukraine:

First, while most of the world has focused (understandably) on the fights for Kyiv and Kharkiv in northern Ukraine, Russia has been most successful in the south. It has reportedly captured the city of Kherson, and its continued success could mean that Russians might be able to attack Ukrainian forces holding the line in the Donbas region from the rear. Will Ukrainian forces retreat if faced with this crisis? Or will they stay and fight?

Second, in my Atlantic piece on Tuesday, I indicated that the Russian military was likely to turn increasingly to raw firepower and indiscriminate attacks to grind down Ukrainian opposition. Sadly, were seeing the signs of escalation, including reported attacks hitting hospitals, schools, and critical infrastructure in the south and the east. If Russia achieves any tangible battlefield gains with these tactics, expect them to proliferate across the battlefield.

Third, Im frankly stunned at the sheer scale of the international economic sanctions against Russia. I did not expect the West to unite so swiftly and decisively. Now, heres my question: Do the sanctions rally the Russian people against Vladimir Putin, or is there a chance they rally the Russian people against the West? We hope that Russians turn against Putin, but we shouldnt assume they will, and if history teaches us anything, its that the Russian nation will endure and persevere through immense suffering when it is under attack.

Now on to the main subjectJoe Bidens potentially permanent political weakness.

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What Obama and Trump Had That Biden Doesn't - The Atlantic

Since he was sworn in as Russia's leader in 2000, Vladimir Putin has dealt with five U.S. presidents to varying degrees of diplomacy.

The question of how the U.S. deals with one of its oldest adversaries has once again risen after Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine, with President Joe Biden facing a next major foreign policy test on how he handles the crisis.

Many conservatives have suggested that Biden is more to blame than Putin launching an attack on the neighboring country and that such a military operation would have never occurred under Donald Trump's watch.

Below, Newsweek looks back at how Biden and the previous presidents over the past 22 years interacted with Putin.

Biden and Putin had their first face-to-face meeting in June 2021 at a summit in Geneva.

Biden announced beforehand that he was keen to use the summit to repair the strained relationship between the U.S and Russia following years of allegations the country had interfered in the 2016 election.

Photos from the day appear to show Biden willing to maintain a decent relationship with Putin and Russia, with both presidents seen smiling as they shook hands at the summit held at the La Grange Villa near Lake Geneva.

"The tone of the entire meeting was good, positive," Biden said following the meeting: "The bottom line is, I told President Putin that we need to have some basic rules of the road that we can all abide by."

The friendly tone arrived just months after Biden Biden told ABC News the Russian president would "pay the price" for allegedly interfering in the 2020 election and referred to Putin as a "killer."

Trump and Putin frequently met during his time in the White House, although details about what the pair spoke about were often not disclosed.

One of their most famous meeting was in the Finish capital of Helsinki, where Trump dismissed suggestions that Russia colluded to tip the results of the 2016 election in his favor.

Trump infamously told the press conference that he did not "see any reason why it would be" Russia which is alleged to have interfered in the 2016 election, although Trump later claimed he misspoke and instead meant to say "wouldn't."

Trump, who seemingly never wanted to criticize Putin, made a similar statement when the two met again on November 11, 2017, at a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Da Nang, Vietnam.

"Every time he sees me, he says, 'I didn't do that,'" Trump said. "And I believe, I really believe, that when he tells me that, he means it. I think he is very insulted by it."

The pair first met during a G20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, in July 2017, although they had communicated with each via telephone and telegraph before this.

Throughout his presidency, Trump considered Putin a key ally and still praises him to this day.

One president who did not shy away from his criticism of Putin was Barack Obama.

In August 2013, Obama canceled a planned meeting with Putin at the U.S.-Russia summit after NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden fled to Russian seeking asylum after leaking thousands of classified documents.

The New York Timesreported it was the first time in decades that a U.S. president had canceled such a meeting, and that the relationship between the two former cold war adversaries was once again approaching near irreparable.

The pair continued to clash down the years. Obama opposed Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, as well as Putin's backing of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's regime amid the country's war.

The pair once again met to discuss foreign policy a few years later, with the relationship still appearing to be standoffish.

One of the most famous images during Obama's time in office arrived at the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou, China, as the U.S. president stared down his Russian counterpart in September 2016.

The frosty reception arrived as the pair discussed a potential ceasefire in Syria. However, Obama later said that "gaps of trust" prevented reaching an agreement and that the 90-minute discussion between the pair was "candid, blunt, businesslike."

The GOP president famously said after his first meeting in Slovenia in 2001 with Putin that he looked him in the eye to "get a sense of his soul".

"He's a man deeply committed to his country," Bush added.

However, the relationship soured down the years, including telling former British Prime Minister Tony Blair that he lost his cool during a meeting with Putin and his interpreter made me "so mad that I nearly reached over the table and slapped the hell out of the guy."

Clinton was in the White House when Putin became Russia's president for the first time, but previously knew him from his stint as Russia prime minister.

Clinton, who famously had a friendly rapport with Putin's predecessor Boris Yeltsin, met with Putin for the first time in Moscow on June 3, 2000. An official told The New York Times that the meeting, in which they discussed a range of issues such as the American-Russian nuclear relationship, was businesslike,'' ''congenial'' and ''easygoing.''

"Remember that the two presidents do know each other, and that was quite apparent from the beginning," the official added.

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How Joe Biden, Donald Trump and Barack Obama Interacted With PutinIn Photos - Newsweek

Regardless of what one publication mistakenly reported,Aisha Tyleris not the daughter of Barack and Michelle Obama.

The comedian/actress/former co-host of the Talkhit Twitter over the weekend after the Daily Mailmistook her for the Obamas 20-year-old daughterSasha in a photos caption. The pictures weretaken atMother Wolf in Los Angeles, where Tyler was spotted greeting Jay-Z andBeyonce as she walked by their table. The caption saidshe was just seven years old when she and her sister Malia became the First Daughters.

Dear @DailyMailUK: I VERY much appreciate you mistaking me for the lovely 20-year-old Sasha Obama, Tyler, 51,wroteon Sunday. Ill assume that was due to my buoyant, youthful appearance & not just messy journalism.

Still, Aishaadded it was fantastic to see the legendaryBeyonc & Jay-Z at dinner, writing that the pair were both dazzling and gracious.

Today itwas reported by former Forbes writer Zack OMalley Greenburg that Hovwas the highest-paid hip-hop artist of 2021, rising above both Kanye West and Diddy withhis impressive estimated$470 million in earnings. Jays financial victory was largely a result of his Tidal and Armand de Brignac champagne deals;he was No. 2 on OMalley Greenburgs list of the highest-paid overall musicians of 2021, falling only behind Bruce Springsteen and his$590M income.

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Aisha Tyler Responds to Tabloid Erroneously Identifying Her as Sasha Obama in Photo With Beyonc and Jay-Z - Complex

Back in 2010, President Barack Obama rang in his 49th birthday with a pick-up game that would be considered an NBA dream team. Now, a piece of basketball history is making its way to auction as one of the memorable sports memorabilia pieces to date.

The ball up for auction comes from a game the former president played in front of wounded warriors and members of the White Houses mentoring program. Obama played alongside some of the NBAs greats including the late Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Carmelo Anthony. The Robb Report has reported that the Spalding TF-1000 is currently listed at Heritage Auctions for its Winte Platinum Night Sports Auctions.

Other stars present at the game was Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. Alonzo Mourning, who was a former Miami Heat forward came out of retirement to join Johnson on the court. Bidding on the ball has already surpassed the auction houses initial $12,000 USD estimate. The sale ends on February 27.

In other sports memorabilia news, a full ticket for Michael Jordans 1984 NBA debut with the Chicago Bulls was recently up for auction.

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A Basketball Signed by Kobe Bryant and LeBron James From President Obama's Pickup Game Is up for Auction - HYPEBEAST