Justice Dept. files voting rights suit against Texas over new map
The Justice Department sued Texas on Monday over the state’s plan to redraw its voting districts, saying it would essentially make ballots cast by Black and Latino voters count for less than those of others. In announcing the suit, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the redistricting plan that the state’s Republican-led legislature approved in October violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which says voters cannot be denied equal access to the political process based on their race or ethnicity. The suit puts other states on notice as they redraw their voting districts, a process that occurs once a decade. Seventeen states have already finalized congressional maps this year.
NYC to mandate vaccines for employees at private businesses
New York City unveiled plans Monday to require on-site employees at all private businesses, from bodegas to multinational banks, to get vaccinated — the most sweeping local mandate in the country and one that is intended to limit the spread of the new coronavirus variant this winter. The mandate, almost certain to face legal challenges and to pose difficulties for the employers tasked with enforcing it, will apply to about 184,000 businesses. It is set to take effect Dec. 27, just days before Mayor Bill de Blasio leaves office. De Blasio described his action as a “preemptive strike” designed to stall another wave of virus cases amid rising concerns about the omicron variant.
Justice Dept. closes Emmett Till investigation without charges
The Justice Department announced Monday that it had closed an investigation into the abduction and murder of Emmett Till, the African American teenager whose gruesome killing by two white men more than six decades ago in Mississippi helped begin the civil rights movement. Federal officials said there was not enough evidence to pursue charges, which was reopened after a historian claimed in a book that Carolyn Bryant Donham, the central witness whose account of an encounter with Emmett led to his death, had recanted the most salacious portions of her story. Citing the statute of limitations and Donham’s denial that she had changed her story, the Justice Department said it could not move forward with prosecuting her for perjury.
Trump’s blood oxygen level in COVID bout was dangerously low, former aide says
President Donald Trump’s blood oxygen level sank to a precariously low level after he announced that he had tested positive for the coronavirus last year, according to a new book by Mark Meadows, his former chief of staff. The new details contradict Trump’s denials this year that his COVID bout was more dire than White House medical officials had acknowledged at the time. Meadows’ book, titled “The Chief’s Chief,” goes on sale on Tuesday. He describes his tenure in the White House, alternately promoting Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him and attacking the news media. Meadows also revealed previously undisclosed details about the former president’s medical condition in October 2020.
Biden expected to offer warnings and alternatives in call with Putin
President Joe Biden is expected to encourage diplomatic de-escalation over the conflict in Ukraine when he speaks to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a video meeting Tuesday. But Biden will warn Putin that if he orders the Russian forces poised at the border to invade Ukraine, Western allies may move to cut Russia off from the international financial system and seek direct sanctions on Putin’s closest associates, administration officials said. Administration officials would not describe the new diplomatic offers in detail, but they appeared to be an effort to alleviate Putin’s supposed fear that Ukraine is posing a threat to Russia by allying too closely with the West.
India and Russia expand defense ties, despite prospect of US sanctions
India and Russia announced expanding defense ties Monday during a visit by President Vladimir Putin to New Delhi, including the details of a $5.4 billion missile defense system sale to India, despite a risk of sanctions from the United States. The confirmation that the missile defense system deal, first agreed upon in 2018, signaled that New Delhi was willing to take calculated risks to bolster its defenses against an emboldened China at its borders. India may have concluded that the United States would not penalize it for buying the defense system because the two countries have been working together closely to address the rising threat from China.
Three missionaries kidnapped in Haiti released
Three more hostages from a group of 17 missionaries and their children kidnapped in Haiti have been released, the U.S. Christian charity they were with said Monday. Their release brought the total number of people freed to five. In a statement Monday, Christian Aid Ministries said the three people released “are safe and seem to be in good spirits.” The organization did not provide their names, ages or the circumstances of their release, including whether a ransom had been paid. In the past, the group had asked for discretion to protect the hostages still being held.
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi convicted in further blow to democracy
Aung San Suu Kyi, the civilian leader of Myanmar who was ousted in a de facto coup this year, was convicted on two charges Monday and handed a four-year sentence that was quickly cut in half — in proceedings widely criticized as a further effort by the country’s military rulers to roll back the democratic gains of recent years. The verdict — on charges of incitement and violating coronavirus restrictions — serves to cement a dramatic reversal of fortunes for the Nobel Peace laureate, who spent 15 years under house arrest for resisting the Southeast Asian nation’s generals but then agreed to work alongside them when they promised to usher in democratic rule.
© 2021 The New York Times Company
