Daily Skimm: Sunny days seem to hurt the most

Whose name we’re still saying…

George Floyd. Today marks two years since a Minneapolis police officer killed the Black man by kneeling on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Now, on the anniversary of Floyd’s death, President Biden is expected to issue an executive order aimed at reforming federal policing. That includes: directing federal agencies to revise their use-of-force policies, creating a national registry of officers fired for misconduct, and using grants to encourage state and local police to tighten restrictions on chokeholds and no-knock warrants. Meanwhile, a state investigation last month found the MPD engaged in “discriminatory, race-based policing” for over a decade.  It’s evidence that will be used to force the department to change its practices and policies. 

PS: Here's how systemic racism exists in society today.

What’s putting China in the hot seat…

The Xinjiang Police Files. Yesterday, a non-profit org released tens of thousands of files hacked from Xinjiang police computers. The files included thousands of photographs of detained people and details of a shoot-to-kill policy for anyone trying to escape. Since 2017, the Chinese gov has cracked down on Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, detaining more than 1 million in its northwest Xinjiang region. There've been reports that Uyghurs have been kept in forced labor camps — and that women have been sterilized. The US has called it a genocide, banned imports from the region, and withheld diplomats from the Beijing Winter Olympics. The group that released the report says this evidence shows the gov was “directly involved in masterminding and supporting the campaign of mass internment.” China maintains it’s a smear campaign.

What’s in the swing of things…

Primary elections. Yesterday, voters in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, and Minnesota picked their candidates for the November midterms. In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) beat out the Trump-endorsed challenger and will face off against Stacey Abrams (D) in November. In Alabama, incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey (R) won the Republican primary despite concerns that she was too strict with her COVID-19 policies. Meanwhile, Texas runoff elections were overshadowed by the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School. Ken Paxton — who won the GOP nomination for attorney general — asked Texans to join him in praying for those “impacted by the horrific shooting.”

What's made Ofdurablestuff...

“The Handmaid’s Tale.”