Biden Says Netanyahu Not Doing Enough to Free Hostages

By Brett Wilkins

"Netanyahu has been citing Biden's ironclad support of him as the *reason* he does not have to work harder to get a hostage deal," said one observer.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn't doing enough to secure an agreement on the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, a statement ridiculed by critics who asserted that the Biden administration's unconditional support for Israel empowers its far-right government to keep stonewalling a potential deal.

‘Show us who you are’: Time runs out as advocates demand votes on two California reparations bills

 By Wendy Fry, Alexei Koseff and Sameea Kamal

In summary

Down to the wire: After years of study, two historic reparations bills are stalled in the Assembly. Is it sparing Gov. Gavin Newsom a tough political call?

Years of effort went into making California the first state in the nation to get reparations laws to the governor’s desk to be signed into law. But now, in the final hours, two historic bills aimed at repairing harm for Black Californians — those that are specifically written for the African American descendants of people enslaved in the United States – are stalling in the Assembly. 

In January the Legislature’s Black Caucus introduced a slate of 14 reparations bills, but Sen. Steven Bradford, a member of the caucus and a state reparations task force, also introduced his own more ambitious bills.

Death row inmate asks SC Supreme Court to halt execution after attorneys claim new evidence

By Sklar Laird

Owens’ execution is scheduled for Sept. 20, set to be the state’s first in 13 years

COLUMBIA — The inmate who is scheduled for execution in three weeks is asking the South Carolina Supreme Court to give him a reprieve, claiming attorneys uncovered new evidence that could overturn his sentence, according to a Friday court filing. 

Freddie Owens’ execution, scheduled for Sept. 20, is set to be the state’s first in 13 years. But his attorneys say they have evidence that solicitors prosecuting his 1999 trial made a secret deal with the key witness in his case, undermining Owens’ conviction, according to Friday’s motion.

Owens was convicted of shooting and killing gas station clerk Irene Graves as part of a string of burglaries in 1997. The single mother of three was shot in the head after saying she didn’t know how to unlock the safe.