NYC mayor visits Rikers jail amid ‘humanitarian crisis’
NEW YORK — Amid a deafening public outcry, Mayor Bill de Blasio finally visited Rikers Island on Monday after staying away from the troubled jail complex for four years and as lawmakers and advocates demanded he see firsthand what they’ve called a “humanitarian crisis.”
De Blasio promised Friday he would tour Rikers this week, but as of Monday morning, he wasn’t revealing exactly when that visit would take place. Later, at around 2:30 p.m., his press team signaled a shift, announcing he’d arrive at Rikers within a matter of hours.
At around 5 p.m., de Blasio spoke about what he’d seen at two facilities there, the Otis Bantum Correctional Center and the Eric M. Taylor Center, which just recently reopened.
“We’ve got a hell of a lot of work to do,” he told reporters. “What I saw is work that needs to be done ... We know there’s a lot more to do.”
He specifically pointed to reducing the number of inmates there, “faster intake” and improving health care services as goals that have yet to be fully accomplished.
Asked if anything specific had struck him about what he saw inside, de Blasio said he has been “upset” about the conditions at Rikers ever since becoming mayor.
For weeks, lawmakers and advocates have howled about horrible conditions at Rikers Island, including crowded cells covered in urine and feces, staffing shortages and the deaths of a dozen inmates within the last year. The conditions led some to dub Rikers Horror Island and prompted several members of Congress to urge President Joe Biden to intervene.
—New York Daily News
Philly surpasses 400 homicides this year
PHILADELPHIA — Two fatal shootings Saturday night brought Philadelphia's total number of homicides this year to beyond 400, a milestone reached only twice in the last two decades.
Last year, the city recorded 499 homicides, and in 2006 the total reached 406. Philadelphia has not had back-to-back years with that grisly tally since 1996.
"I am heartbroken and outraged that we've lost over 400 Philadelphians to preventable violence already this year," Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement issued Sunday morning. "I want all residents to know that our administration takes this crisis very seriously and we're acting with urgency to reduce violence and save lives."
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner echoed that sentiment in a statement Sunday: "We should all be outraged that senseless, preventable violence continues to claim and break lives here in Philadelphia and in communities across the country that are also experiencing alarming increases in gun violence."
This coming week, Kenney said, the city will announce funding for more grassroots organizations working to stem neighborhood violence. In addition, the city is expanding its Group Violence Intervention initiative and Community Crisis Intervention Program, while the Police Department "is making significant arrests and taking a record number of illegal firearms off our streets."
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
US Rep. Karen Bass makes bid for LA mayor official
LOS ANGELES — U.S. Rep. Karen Bass launched her campaign for Los Angeles mayor on Monday, telling Angelenos she’s in the race with her “whole heart” and ready to tackle the city’s homelessness epidemic.
“Our city is facing a public health, safety and economic crisis in homelessness that has evolved into a humanitarian emergency,” Bass, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Los Angeles, said in a statement. “I’ve spent my entire life bringing groups of people together in coalitions to solve complex problems and produce concrete change — especially in times of crisis.”
She added: “With my whole heart, I’m ready. Let’s do this — together. I’m running for mayor.”
Bass, who served as state Assembly speaker before being elected to Congress, co-founded Community Coalition, a South L.A. nonprofit focused on social and economic issues.
She joins a field that includes City Attorney Mike Feuer, City Councilmen Kevin de León and Joe Buscaino, business leader Jessica Lall and real estate broker Mel Wilson.
Two others, real estate developer Rick Caruso and former L.A. Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner, have been exploring a mayoral bid.
Bass’ entrance into the race was expected. In recent months, she told reporters that she was seriously considering a bid, while her supporters in Los Angeles — a diverse group that includes activists, City Hall politicians, and Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg — also talked up Bass for mayor.
—Los Angeles Times
Graham says Jan. 6 won’t necessarily be Trump’s legacy
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has made a new bet on how he thinks history will remember President Donald Trump and the violent mob that ransacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 in Trump’s name and his unfounded allegations of election fraud.
In an interview with The State Monday, the South Carolina Republican predicted the upcoming 2022 midterm elections — not the insurrection itself — will determine whether Trump’s presidency is forever linked to the events of Jan. 6.
“That won’t be his legacy,” Graham insisted, before qualifying, “That won’t be his legacy if we win in 2022. If we lose in 2022, then Jan. 6 becomes his legacy.”
It was a departure from the assessment Graham made in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack, when the senator told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Feb. 7 that Jan. 6 was “a very bad day for America, and he’ll get his share of blame in history.”
Graham’s comments on Monday also come as the longtime Trump ally finds himself ping-ponging in and out of favor with the former president, who still holds a powerful sway over the Republican Party.
—The State
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