Jun 29, 2019

Charlottesville attacker gets life sentence for federal hate crimes

Photo: LOGAN CYRUS / Contributor/Getty

A federal judge sentenced James Alex Fields Jr., a self-described neo-Nazi, to life in prison for federal hate crimes committed during a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., the AP reports.

Driving the news: Fields, 22, was charged with both state and federal crimes for deliberately driving his car into a group of peaceful anti-racism protestors at the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally. One woman, Heather Heyer, was killed in the attack and more than 2 dozen others were injured. He still faces sentencing July 15 on the state conviction of first-degree murder.

After Friday's sentence, Thomas T. Cullen, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, said the Charlottesville attack set a new precedent for future cases of domestic terrorism, per the New York Times.

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Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Rashaan Ayesh
Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Updates: George Floyd protests enter 12th day

Protesters in Washington, D.C. on June 6. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Tens of thousands of demonstrators are rallying in cities across the U.S. and around the world to protest the killing of George Floyd. Huge crowds have assembled in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Chicago for full-day events.

Why it matters: Twelve days of nationwide protest in the U.S. has built pressure for states to make new changes on what kind of force law enforcement can use on civilians and prompted officials to review police conduct.

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Rashaan Ayesh, Rebecca Falconer
Updated 2 hours ago - World

In photos: People around the world rally against racism

Despite a ban on large gatherings implemented in response to the coronavirus pandemic, protesters rally against racism in front of the American Embassy in Paris on June 6. Photo: Julien Mattia/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Tens of thousands of people have continued to rally in cities across the world against racism and show their support this week for U.S. demonstrators protesting the death in police custody of George Floyd.

Why it matters: The tense situation in the U.S. has brought the discussion of racism and discrimination onto the global stage at a time when most of the world is consumed by the novel coronavirus.

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Axios
Updated 3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 7:30 p.m. ET: 6,852,810 — Total deaths: 398,211 — Total recoveries — 3,071,142 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 7:30 p.m. ET: 1,917,080 — Total deaths: 109,702 — Total recoveries: 500,849 — Total tested: 19,778,873 — Map.
  3. Public health: Why the pandemic is hitting minorities harder — Coronavirus curve rises in Florida — How racism threatens the response to the pandemic — Some people are drinking and inhaling cleaning products in attempt to fight the virus.
  4. Tech: The pandemic is accelerating next-generation disease diagnostics — Robotics looks to copy software-as-a-service model.
  5. Business: Budgets busted by coronavirus make it harder for cities to address inequality — Sports, film production in California to resume June 12 after 3-month hiatus.
  6. Education: Students and teachers flunked remote learning.
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