Archive - Jul 9, 2010

• Oakland responds to Oscar Grant verdict
  (click here for web only special)
• Defense Department recommends replacement to oversee military action in Middle East
• World Cup brings clamp down on civil rights in South Africa
  (click here for web only special)
• Health concerns grow over worker conditions in Gulf Coast oil spill
• Critics of Comcast - NBC merger point to risks for media diversity

• Massachusetts court strikes down DOMA as unconstitutional
• Presbyterian church allows gay clergy; denies same-sex marriage once again
• West Virginia Governor’s Counsel says State Legislature should decide Byrd replacement protocol
• Suicide bomb kills more than 80 in Pakistan
• Fire in overcrowded Uruguay prison leaves 12 dead

A jury in Los Angeles released a lesser guilty verdict in the case of Oakland BART officer Johannes Mehserle. Mehserle, who is white, shot and killed 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who is black, while he lay unarmed at a BART platform on New Year's Day in 2009.

Mehserle's guilty verdict for involuntary manslaughter carries a lighter sentence than second-degree murder, the charge the prosecution was seeking. He faces up to 4 years in prison, plus additional time because the crime included a gun.

Yesterday, Grant's mother, Wanda Johnson reacted to the verdict.

A jury in Los Angeles released a lesser guilty verdict in the case of Oakland BART officer Johannes Mehserle. Mehserle, who is white, shot and killed 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who is black, while he lay unarmed at a BART platform on New Year's Day in 2009.

Mehserle's guilty verdict for involuntary manslaughter carries a lighter sentence than second-degree murder, the charge the prosecution was seeking. He faces up to 4 years in prison, plus additional time because the crime included a gun.

Yesterday, Grant's mother, Wanda Johnson reacted to the verdict.

This weekend, the month-long FIFA World Cup comes to a close in South Africa with a final game between Spain and the Netherlands. But as viewers across the world tune in to watch the final, activists in South Africa are bringing attention to some of the negative effects of hosting the biggest sporting event in the world and threats to civil rights and the local economy.

To discuss these issues, we're joined by Patrick Bond, who directs the Centre for Civil Society in Durban and has been closely monitoring the World Cup in South Africa.

This weekend, the month-long FIFA World Cup comes to a close in South Africa with a final game between Spain and the Netherlands. But as viewers across the world tune in to watch the final, activists in South Africa are bringing attention to some of the negative effects of hosting the biggest sporting event in the world and threats to civil rights and the local economy.

To discuss these issues, we're joined by Patrick Bond, who directs the Centre for Civil Society in Durban and has been closely monitoring the World Cup in South Africa.

A federal appeals court in Louisiana rejected the Obama Administration's attempts to reinstate a six-month ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The decision from the three-judge panel came down late Thursday and ruled in favor of companies that argue that they are being financially hurt by the moratorium on drilling. The Interior Department says a ban is necessary in order to avoid another oil disaster. The federal government may attempt to issue a second temporary ban in response to the ruling.