Jun 19, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Air Force becomes first U.S. military branch to nominate a woman as top enlisted leader

A McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft of the Air Force. Photo: Mikhail Metzel\TASS via Getty Images

Chief Master Sgt. JoAnne Bass was selected as the Air Force chief master sergeant on Friday, the AP reports.

Why it matters: Bass, who has served as Command Chief Master Sergeant for the 2nd Air Force at Mississippi's Keesler Air Force Base, is the first woman to serve as the branch's top enlisted leader in a military branch. She has served in the Air Force since 1993, per AP.

  • Bass was the consensus pick out a group of over a dozen finalists within the Air Force’s global operation, officials said in the press release cited by Task & Purpose.

What she's saying: “[Our airmen] are counting on leaders like me, to make a positive impact in their lives,” Bass said in a video reflecting on her selection, noted in Task & Purpose. “I owe them my best.”

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Rebecca Falconer, Ursula Perano
Jun 23, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Secret Service says it "misdirected" press to leave White House grounds

Protesters and U.S. Park Police clash after demonstrators tried to pull down the statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square near the White House on Monday. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The Secret Service told members of the media covering a protest in Lafayette Square to leave White House grounds on Monday evening, as demonstrators attempted to topple a statue of Andrew Jackson.

Why it matters: It's an "incredibly unusual" move, noted CNN's Kaitlan Collins live on air. Reporters are typically redirected to the White House briefing room during such incidents, per CNN. A Secret Service spokesperson said in a statement to Axios, "[I]n response to the increasingly violent demonstrations in Lafayette Park, four members of the media were misdirected by the Secret Service to leave the White House grounds. The members of the press were rerouted to exits on the south side of the complex for their own safety."

Orion Rummler
Updated Jun 27, 2020 - Politics & Policy

The major police reforms that have been enacted since George Floyd's death

NYPD officers watch a George Floyd protest in Manhattan on June 6. Photo: Scott Heins/Getty Images

More than a month of protests across the U.S. following George Floyd's killing have put pressure on governments to scale back the use of force police officers can use on civilians and create new oversight for officer conduct.

Why it matters: Police reforms of this scale have not taken place in response to the Black Lives Matter movement since its inception in 2013, after George Zimmerman's acquittal for shooting Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager.

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Orion Rummler
Jun 24, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Louisville police officer involved in Breonna Taylor shooting fired

Protesters hold pictures of Breonna Taylor, left, Andrew Kearse, center, and Ahmaud Arbery, right, during a demonstration on June 22 in Boston, Massachusetts. Photo: Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was fired on Tuesday, effective immediately, for "blindly" firing 10 bullets into Breonna Taylor's apartment on March 13, the police department announced.

Driving the news: Black Lives Matter protesters and activists on social media have called for punitive action in the wake of Taylor's death, after she was fatally shot by police who entered her apartment without warning through a "no-knock" warrant.

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