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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="9395465" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Robert-Fuller">Robert Fuller</keyword> was found hanged in Palmdale, <keyword id="2379" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="California">California</keyword>, on June 10, and officials quickly ruled his <keyword id="6355784" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="death">death</keyword> a suicide. </li><li>After protests from city residents, Palmdale opened an investigation into 24-year-old Fuller's death. </li><li>A long history of racism in Palmdale and the surrounding Antelope Valley fueled speculations that Fuller was murdered.</li></ul>The day Robert Fuller died, his body was found hanging from a tree outside City Hall in Palmdale, California.Officials were quick to rule the 24-year-old's June 10 death a suicide, but many Palmdale residents, including Fuller's family, <a href="https://www.insider.com/black-man-robert-fuller-dead-hanging-palmdale-city-hall-investigation-2020-6">wanted answers</a>.His death, which happened just weeks after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparked protests in the Palmdale, and led state officials and the FBI <a href="https://www.insider.com/state-fbi-investigate-death-black-man-robert-fuller-hanging-tree-2020-6">to join investigations into the incident</a>. Many in the city don't believe Fuller died by suicide, and friends and family have said he wasn't suicidal.Meanwhile, a long history of racism in Palmdale and the surrounding Antelope Valley fueled speculations that Fuller was murdered.Palmdale is a city of 155,079 people northeast of Los Angeles. <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/palmdalecitycalifornia">According to US census data</a>, 41.6% of residents are white, while 12.5% are Black. Hispanic and Latino communities represent 60.2% of the population.Jamon R. Hicks, an attorney for Fuller's family, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-17/robert-fuller-antelope-valley-racism">told the Los Angeles Times</a> that he was alarmed that Fuller's death wasn't initially investigated as a homicide. The medical examiner's office had ruled the death a suicide, telling reporters there was a "lack of any evidence" of foul play. There was no item at the scene that Fuller could have used to climb upon before dying.<div type="image" title="Lakesia Rambo-Barrett, right, wife of Pastor Michael Barrett of the Doright Christian Church in Los Angeles looks up into a tree with tears in her eyes mourners gather at two memorials for Robert Fuller in Poncitlan Square next to Palmdale City Hall where Fuller, a young black man was found hung last week." height="1649" width="2500" msid="76634641" hostid="261"></div>"Our first thought brings us back to a dark time in history where we see public lynchings to send a message," he said. He told The LA Times that the city has a history of "racial tension and conflict" — and <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> stories from recent years reflect that tension. According to reports from the LA Times and other local media reports, as well as <a href="https://twitter.com/KristenClarkeJD">the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law</a>, a number of racial issues have emerged in the last 15 or so years.<h2>In 2007, Ku Klux Klan fliers depicting black activists hanging from a tree were found by a Palmdale high school</h2><a href="https://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20071021/kkk-fliers-found-near-knight-high-in-palmdale">According to the Los Angeles Daily News</a>, Ku Klux Klan fliers showing Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton hanging from a tree were found near Palmdale's Knight High School in October 2007."Nappy headed pimps don't come to Antelope Valley," the flier said, signed by "KKK."The incident happened after a dispute between students and a security guard at the school over a dropped birthday cake. The students said the guard called one of them a "nappy-head."The incidents sparked protests in the town, in which people called for an end of racism.<h2>In 2010, a Sheriff's Deputy mocked Section 8 housing residents on Facebook</h2>But years went on, and issues persisted. In 2010, a sheriff's deputy in Palmdale posted a photo of a Section 8 voucher recipient's garage on a Facebook page called "I Hate Section 8," referring to the government program that helps low-income families pay rent.<div type="image" title="Protesters march holding signs during a Juneteenth demonstration over the death of Robert Fuller, in Lancaster, California, June 19, 2020." height="1667" width="2500" msid="76634643" hostid="261"></div>The photo showed a number of luxury cars in the garage, and the officer had taken the photo during a compliance check, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-17/robert-fuller-antelope-valley-racism">according to the LA Times</a>.The family ended up moving out of Palmdale after experiencing a number of racist attacks including their house being vandalized with racist graffiti, and someone yelling a racist phrase while throwing urine on a minor who lived at the house.<h2>In 2013, a judge found that Palmdale's voting system made it difficult for Black and Latinx candidates to win elections</h2>Racist policies were ingrained in the city, too. In 2013, a judge found that at-large elections made it more difficult for Black and Latinx candidates to win elections and violated the rights of minority voters.The city's voting system at the time had all registered voters cast votes for all candidates, instead of separating the city into districts.As part of a settlement made in 2015, Palmdale was required to divide the city council into four geographic districts, according to <a href="https://www.scpr.org/news/2015/05/07/51526/palmdale-settles-voting-rights-lawsuit-moves-to-di/">Southern California Public Radio</a>.<h2>In 2015, an investigation found Palmdale officials had forcibly pushed black residents into low-income housing and out of the city</h2>More local government issues emerged in 2015, when Palmdale and nearby Lancaster, California, reached a $2 million settlement with the Department of Justice in a case that alleged city officials had colluded with the Los Angeles County housing authorities and its sheriff's department to push Black people out of their communities, <a href="https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/07/20/la-county-housing-authority-agrees-to-2m-settlement-in-section-8-discrimination-lawsuit/">CBS Los Angeles reported at the time</a>.<div type="image" title="Demonstrators participate in a protest rally for Robert Fuller whose body was found hanging from a tree a block from Palmdale City Hall, in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Palmdale, California, U.S., June 13, 2020." height="1715" width="2500" msid="76634646" hostid="261"></div>The Justice Department said in its report that the sheriff's department put policies in place to discourage Black people from living int heir community.Federal investigators found that armed sheriff's deputies were carrying out sweeps of Section 8 housing in attempts to evict residents over housing violations, and that Black people were more likely to be stopped and searched than other residents, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-17/robert-fuller-antelope-valley-racism">according to the LA Times.</a><h2>In 2019, there were reports of a high school student wearing blackface and teachers posing with a noose</h2>As recent as last year, racist incidents were being reported in Palmdale and Antelope Valley's schools, tool.In May 2019, four teachers at Summerwind Elementary School in Palmdale were briefly placed on leave after a photo of them smiling and holding a noose circulated online.The incident was investigated, and the first-grade teachers told officials that the photo was meant to be a joke marking the end of the school year. The teachers said it was meant to signify that they had "reached the end of our rope," but needed to "hang in there until summer," <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-07/noose-teacher-photo-investigation">according to the LA Times</a>.The principal of the school resigned over the incident, but all four teachers were cleared of wrongdoing in September, following the investigation.Still, investigators said the teachers were "ignorant, lacked judgment, and exhibited a gross disregard for professional decorum," and Palmdale School District spokesman David Garcia called the photo "offensive," according to the LA Times.An investigator recommended that all teachers take sensitivity training.Meanwhile, down the road in Antelope Valley's Lancaster, California, another school district was dealing with a racist video that came from students.A group of teenagers used a racial slur while painting a friend in blackface, and posted footage of the incident on Snapchat in June 2019, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/video-shows-california-teens-laughing-one-painted-blackface-n1023256">NBC News reported at the time</a>.<div type="image" title="Balloons hang from a tree as a makeshift memorial for Robert Fuller, with the US flag in the background at Palmdale City Hall, as people gather to demand justice for Robert Fuller, a young black man who was found hanging from a tree, on June 16, 2020, in Palmdale, California." height="1667" width="2500" msid="76634650" hostid="261"></div>The video showed students from Quartz Hill High School using black make up to paint on to a white male teen's face, and students can be heard laughing while one says, "a white n-----?"Antelope Valley Union High School District told parents at the time that the video featured "deeply offensive, and inexcusable racist behavior," though <a href="https://www.avpress.com/news/activists-denounce-teens-video/article_9acef026-9964-11e9-ba61-effe9ac6f8c0.html">School Board Vice President Victoria Ruffin told reporters</a> she was "positive these students don't fully understand why their behaviors are offensive."It remains unclear if the students faced any punishment from the school district.<h2>Black communities in Palmdale and Antelope Valley are still on edge</h2>Fuller was one of <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/people-color-have-died-recent-string-hangings-across-country/dwYcL9kK7vRYn4Zqw0f1gL/">several Black people to be found hanging from trees across the US in recent weeks</a>. Authorities are still investigating his death, but amid their investigation, police in neighboring Kern County shot Fuller's half-brother <a href="https://www.insider.com/robert-fuller-terron-boone-half-brother-shot-dead-police-shootout-2020-6">in an exchange of gunfire</a>.Even if Fuller's death is ruled a suicide, Black communities in Antelope Valley have been vocal over the last several weeks of their concerns surrounding his death and previous incidents of racism in the area. Najee Ali, a Los Angeles-based community activist who helped organize Palmdale protests following Fuller's death, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/nooses-hangings-and-cross-burnings-imagery-of-americas-dark-racial-history-sparks-fear-nationwide/2020/06/24/7134b238-b5a5-11ea-8c69-7da719d02278_story.html">told the Washington Post</a> that there's a wide distrust of local officials among Black people. "I have been getting calls for the last few years from beleaguered residents who have moved from South L.A. to the high-desert area seeking a better quality of life, only to discover they have essentially moved to an area reminiscent of Mississippi in the 1970s," Ali said. "These white residents have resisted every inch of integration from day one for decades. We believe that the leadership in Palmdale has similar views privately, that they could never express publicly."<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Expanded Coverage Module: black-lives-matter-module</li></ul>

The town where Robert Fuller was found dead has a history of racism that has fueled speculation over his death

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="9423665" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="terron-boone">Terron Boone</keyword> was shot dead by the police in a confrontation in a Rosamond, California, parking lot Wednesday afternoon, according to a family representative.</li><li>Boone is the half brother of <keyword id="9395465" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Robert-Fuller">Robert Fuller</keyword>, a Black man whose body was found hanging from a tree in Palmdale, California, last week.</li><li>Local authorities initially deemed Fuller's <keyword id="6355784" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="death">death</keyword> a suicide, but his family believes he may have been lynched. The <a href="https://www.insider.com/state-fbi-investigate-death-black-man-robert-fuller-hanging-tree-2020-6">Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the California attorney general, and the FBI</a> are investigating.</li><li>Boone was wanted on charges of false imprisonment, spousal assault, and assault. </li><li>Officials said Boone fired several shots at deputies before officers returned fire, hitting Boone in the chest and killing him.</li></ul>Exactly one week after Robert Fuller's body was found hanging from a tree in Southern California, Fuller's half brother was killed by the police in what authorities described as a shootout in a nearby town.The <keyword id="440891" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Los-Angeles-County">Los Angeles County</keyword> Sheriff's Department did not officially name the person killed in the Wednesday-afternoon shooting, but an attorney for the Fuller family identified the man as Terron Boone, who shares a mother with Fuller. Lt. Robert Westphal of the sheriff's department told the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-17/la-me-rosamond-shooting-sheriff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles Times </a>that detectives were trailing a suspect when he pulled into the parking lot of an apartment complex in Rosamond, got out of the passenger side of the vehicle, and fired at least five shots at detectives.Westphal said the officers returned fire, striking the man in the chest and killing him.A woman and a 7-year-old girl were also in the vehicle. The woman was also shot in the chest but was released from the hospital Wednesday night, the sheriff's department said. The child was not injured.It's unclear what their relationship to Boone was.Since Tuesday, Boone had been wanted on more than a dozen charges including spousal abuse, false imprisonment, assault with a firearm, and threatening assault, according to Los Angeles Superior Court records.Sources told <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/investigations/robert-fullers-half-brother-at-center-of-shootout-with-sheriffs-deputies/2382024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC Los Angeles</a> and <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/lacsd-deputy-fatally-shoots-robert-fullers-half-brother-during-shootout-in-kern-county" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox 11</a> that Boone was suspected of kidnapping an unidentified woman and holding her against her will.Other than confirming that Boone was killed in the shooting, the family had no other comment, according to their attorney, Jamon Hicks."At this time, until we receive all of the information, the family and their legal team doesn't have any further comment on this incident," Hicks said in a statement. "The family respectfully asks that their privacy be respected."Boone's death came one week after the body of his half brother, Fuller, was found hanging from a tree in a park in Palmdale, California, on June 10.Fuller's death was <a href="https://www.insider.com/black-man-robert-fuller-dead-hanging-palmdale-city-hall-investigation-2020-6">initially listed as a suicide</a>, but his family has said they believe it may've been a lynching.Fuller's death, as well as that of Malcolm Harsch — a Black man whose body was found hanging in Victorville, California, 10 days earlier — gained national attention at a time of widespread protests for the Black Lives Matter movement.The FBI and the California Attorney General's Office are <a href="https://www.insider.com/state-fbi-investigate-death-black-man-robert-fuller-hanging-tree-2020-6">now monitoring the investigations into Fuller's and Harsch's deaths</a>.Expanded Coverage Module: black-lives-matter-module

The half brother of Robert Fuller — the Black man whose body was found hanging from a tree — was killed in a shootout with police

<ul class="summary-list"><li>State and federal authorities will monitor the investigation into the death of <keyword id="9395465" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Robert-Fuller">Robert Fuller</keyword>, a 24-year-old Black man who was found dead hanging from a tree in Palmdale, <keyword id="2379" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="California">California</keyword>.</li><li>Fuller's body was discovered last Wednesday at about 3:40 a.m. near Palmdale City Hall. Local authorities initially said it appeared he died by suicide, but a further investigation into the circumstances of his death is ongoing.</li><li>LA County Medical Examiner Dr. Jonathan Lucas said an autopsy conducted Friday didn't reveal any evidence suggesting "anything other than a suicide," but he said he felt further investigation is warranted.</li><li>Fuller's sister Diamond Alexander told the Los Angeles Times that her brother would not have taken his own life.</li><li>"We just want the truth," Alexander told the Los Angeles Times. "My brother was not suicidal. He was a survivor."</li></ul>State and federal authorities will join with Los Angeles Sheriff's Department to investigate the death of a Black man who was found dead hanging from a tree in Palmdale, California.LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said during a Monday press conference that he personally called state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the FBI. The civil rights division of the FBI will monitor the investigation.<a href="https://www.insider.com/black-man-robert-fuller-dead-hanging-palmdale-city-hall-investigation-2020-6">Robert Fuller, 24, was found dead last Wednesday</a> around 3:40 a.m. near Palmdale City Hall. Police initially said it appeared Fuller died by suicide, which prompted outcry from the public demanding a full and thorough investigation.<a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/new-calls-for-investigation-into-man-found-hanging-from-tree-in-palmdale/2380370/">Medical Examiner-Coroner Dr. Jonathan Lucas told reporters Monday</a> that an autopsy was conducted last Friday, saying "initially there wasn't any evidence that lead us to believe there was anything other than a suicide," but he said he felt further investigation was warranted before an official cause-of-death is determined."It is a tragic sad death ... we are doing everything we can to find out what happened," Lucas said.Hundreds marched to the Palmdale City Hall near where Fuller's body was found, with some suggesting Fuller may have been lynched due to the similarity in manner of death. A <a href="https://www.change.org/p/los-angeles-sheriff-s-department-palmdale-station-justice-for-robert-fuller?recruiter=38685381&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&amp;utm_term=psf_combo_share_abi&amp;recruited_by_id=07e4aca0-4187-0130-4615-3c764e049b1030-4615-3c764e049b10">petition</a> made rounds on Twitter last Friday — and was even shared by <a href="https://twitter.com/KimKardashian/status/1271559605773049858">Kim Kardashian West</a> — demanding a full and thorough investigation for Fuller.As of Monday, the petition had gathered more than 270,000 signatures."During such a heightened time with the <keyword id="3110441" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Black-Lives-Matter-movement">Black Lives Matter movement</keyword> and the city's quickness to call his death a suicide before any investigation, there is reason to believe that Robert's death was a lynching," the description of the petition read, adding that the Palmdale and the Antelope Valley have a "history of racism and negligence.""We demand the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Palmdale Station and the City of Palmdale to conduct a full, thorough investigation into Robert's death," the petition continued. "We demand security footage in Poncitlán Square to be presented and audio of the call placed when his body was found. We demand justice to be served for Robert and his loved ones."Multiple local and state elected officials called on state AG Becerra to conduct an independent investigation into Fuller's death, including California Sen. Scott Wilk, Assemblyman Tom Lackey, and LA County supervisor Kathryn Barger."The attorney general, as the lead attorney and law enforcement official for the state of California, will lend additional expertise and oversight into this important investigation and provide the community with the answers they deserve," Barger told <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/robert-fuller-hanging-death-state-fbi-to-oversee-probe-into-palmdale-mans-death">Fox 11</a>."It is my hope that our collective efforts will help to support those struggling and grieving surrounding the circumstances of this tragedy."Fuller's sister Diamond Alexander told the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-14/hundreds-gather-in-palmdale-to-call-for-investigation-of-black-man-found-hanging-from-tree">Los Angeles Times</a> that her brother would not have taken his own life."This is really crazy to all of us," Alexander told the outlet. "We want to find out the truth on what really happened. Everything they told us is not right. We just want the truth.""My brother was not suicidal," she added. "He was a survivor."

California and FBI authorities are joining the investigation into the death of a Black man who was found hanging from a tree in California

<ul class="summary-list"><li>With remote work here to stay, office buildings are struggling to attract tenants. </li><li>Some in the real-estate and building industries are leaning into office-to-residential conversions.</li></ul>New York is facing twin real-estate crises: a massive amount of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/05/nyregion/nyc-office-space-vacancy-rates.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">empty office space</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-manhattan-real-estate-housing-affordability-no-new-homes-2023-8">almost no new housing construction</a>. The pandemic-induced shift to remote work caught many in the commercial real-estate industry off guard. But some developers and architects have used the opportunity to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-office-to-residential-apartments-conversion-nyc-san-francisco-2023-8">lean into a business model</a> they'd been pursuing long before COVID-19: turning empty office buildings into housing. They include the real-estate development and investment firm Vanbarton Group and the architecture firm Gensler. They're currently finishing up their transformation of 160 Water Street, a 1970s office tower in lower Manhattan that will become 586 apartments. This comes after Vanbarton worked with the architecture firm CetraRuddy to convert a similar building at 180 Water Street into 574 units back in 2017. Their work has drawn support from politicians like Mayor Eric Adams, who <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/602-23/mayor-adams-dcp-director-garodnick-proposal-convert-vacant-offices-housing-through#/0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has announced plans</a> to grease the wheels of office-to-residential conversions. Most of the estimated 96 million square feet of vacant office space in New York City would be prohibitively expensive, or illegal, to turn into housing. But in some cases, it's feasible. The conversions each pose unique challenges. A universal issue is the lack of air and light in the center of these large commercial buildings, and making more windows available for apartments can require extreme makeovers to those looming, dark office towers.<h2>Shifting square footage around</h2>With both Water Street projects, Vanbarton and their partners took especially dramatic measures to turn the modernist skyscrapers into livable spaces. This included cutting holes in the center of the buildings, adding new floors, and replacing all of the windows. At 180 Water Street, the architects designed a 30-by-40-foot courtyard in the center of the building to bring light and air into several apartments and mechanical spaces. They also built new floors on top of the building to make up for the lost square footage and added a pool, roof-deck, gym, and other amenities. At 160 Water, they cut three central "blind shafts," or voids, that run the height of the building to eliminate space that was too far from windows to be usable but not big enough to be turned into a courtyard. <div type="image" title="A rendering of extra floors that will be added to the top of 160 Water Street." height="720" width="1280" msid="103555133" hostid="261"></div>To add back that lost square footage, they turned a double-height floor that used to store mechanical systems into two floors, and added new half-floors to the top of the building with penthouses and terraces, growing the structure from 24 to 29 stories. The building will have almost 35,000 square feet of amenities, including a wraparound roof-deck. Several underground floors will be used for a gym, a spa, and a bowling alley — spaces that don't necessarily need natural light. "There was essentially dead space at the back of these units," Joey Chilelli, Vanbarton's managing director, told Insider. "And so instead of adding that to the unit and creating these extremely long units, we took that out and then put it elsewhere in the building where it made much more sense." Robert Fuller, a principal at Gensler who led the design of 160 Water, said the blind shafts were "probably the biggest planning challenge" in the project. "We couldn't just wall it off and leave the floor slab. We had to physically remove the floor slabs so that it became a true shaft," Fuller told Insider.<div type="image" title="A newly-finished apartment inside 160 Water Street." height="853" width="1280" msid="103555135" hostid="261"></div>The team also had to add lateral reinforcements to the building to support the additional floors, also known as an "overbuild.""The alternate to that would have been to reduce the size of the overbuild, but then you're losing square footage," Fuller said. "Most developers are not looking to lose square footage if they can avoid it. So it's a cost-benefit analysis that the client has to do during design."They turned the first floor of 160 Water into a large open lobby with a lounge, coffee shop, and mail room after realizing that retail wouldn't have been the best use of space, Fuller said. In both buildings, all the windows had to be replaced with ones that can open. Another major intervention involved upgrading all the heating, cooling, ventilation, plumbing, and other mechanical systems to meet current energy-efficiency standards. The upgraded systems will make both buildings considerably more efficient, and Chilelli said that 160 Water will meet New York's 2024 and 2030 energy-efficiency standards. <div type="image" title="The exterior of 160 Water Street, a former office building that's undergoing full reconstruction to hold almost 600 apartments at market price." height="1280" width="853" msid="103555136" hostid="261"></div>All of this comes at a price, though. Rent at 160 Water will range from about $3,500 for a studio apartment up to $7,500 for a two-bedroom. Demand for 180 Water — where apartments are at about the same price point — was strong and the building filled up quickly. Chilelli thinks there are plenty more people who'd like to move to the financial district. But he said he'd like to see state lawmakers make a series of legislative changes that would make office-to-residential conversions easier for developers, and more affordable for New Yorkers. "If there are tax incentives tied to some of these conversions by providing a certain percentage of an affordable component to it, I think that will also help and I'd like to see that," he said. In the meantime, Chilelli said he evaluates new opportunities for office conversions on a weekly basis, and he's excited for the next project.Fuller said his team is looking at potential opportunities in both the financial district and midtown Manhattan. The conversion projects are challenging but fun from a design perspective, he said. "Any good designer embraces that challenge, trying to come up with creative solutions," he said. "At first blush it would be easy to look at a building like 160 and say, 'Oh, it doesn't work. The floor plate is too deep.' But we were able to come up with a solution." As New York looks to revitalize its business districts, office conversions can make a difference. "It really does breathe new life into these buildings," Chilelli said. "You're creating this buzz and this new life, and you might have 1,000 or more residents and the effects of that on this street, this corner, this neighborhood and the amount of foot traffic as well as other retail activity — it really boosts the area and changes the streetscape."

Architects are cutting big holes in the middle of skyscrapers and adding more floors to turn empty NYC offices into apartments

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="6354803" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Los-Angeles">Los Angeles</keyword> Sheriff's Department is investigating the death of Robert Fuller, a 24-year-old Black man, who was found dead hanging from a tree near Palmdale City Hall earlier this week.</li><li>Authorities initially said he appeared to have died by <keyword id="6356238" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="suicide">suicide</keyword>, but a "full autopsy is anticipated in the immediate future," the LASD said in a statement.</li><li>The initial assessment of his death was met with public outcry, as people demanded the case be thoroughly investigated and possibly considered a hate crime.</li><li>If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or has had thoughts of harming themselves or taking their own life, get help. The <a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/">National Suicide Prevention Lifeline</a> (1-800-273-8255) provides 24/7, free, confidential support for people in distress, as well as best practices for professionals and resources to aid in prevention and crisis situations.</li></ul>The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department is investigating the death of a Black man who was found dead Wednesday hanging from a tree near Palmdale City Hall.The body of the 24-year-old man, later identified as Robert Fuller, was spotted at 3:39 a.m. local time on Wednesday in the 38300 block of 9th Street East in Palmdale, officials said at a press conference Friday. Police and emergency responders arrived at the scene soon after and pronounced him dead."Although the investigation is ongoing, it appears that Mr. Fuller has tragically died by suicide," Captain Ronald Shaffer, of the LA County Sheriff's Palmdale station, said during a press conference. A press release from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said a full autopsy is "anticipated in the immediate future."The line was met with outcry from those attending the press conference, with some people saying "no peace" and "that's a lie.""Remember what the first coroner said about George Floyd? We need another coroner," one attendee said, according to a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CityofPalmdale/videos/2626628357559412/">livestream of the press conference</a>.Another attendee cited the case of Breonna Taylor, who was shot eight times in her home when officers served a "no-knock" warrant. The <a href="https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2020/06/10/breonna-taylor-shooting-louisville-police-release-incident-report/5332915002/">incident report</a> from Taylor's case reported her injuries as "none."The City of Palmdale <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CityofPalmdale/posts/2993195414108276">posted on Facebook</a> in response to Fuller's death, saying the city "extends its sincere condolences and sympathies to the family and friends of Robert Fuller who tragically passed away in Palmdale on Wednesday, June 10."An early press release linked his death to COVID-19 citing "extreme mental anguish" amidst the pandemic. "Many people are suffering extreme mental anguish and the City wants everyone to know that help is available," City Manager J.J. Murphy said in a <a href="https://www.cityofpalmdale.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=363&amp;fbclid=IwAR3KkOvIIhPI28kya_i3BJIVR7n5T6-wqq2uAltuG8NMGJ2UQMISn03oMaMoMaM">statement</a>. Officials deeming the death a suicide prior to the conclusion of the investigation contributed to community outrage.According to <a href="https://laist.com/2020/06/12/robert-fuller-justice-suicide-investigation-palmdale.php">LAist</a>, the mayor of Palmdale, Steve Hofbauer, admitted that "we should have stated it better," adding that they "were going off of what the coroner was telling the sheriff."Family members of Fuller set up a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/community-support-for-robert-fuller">GoFundMe</a> to assist with funeral costs; it has since garnered more than $75,000 at the time of publication."Words can't describe how my family is feeling," the description of the GoFundMe read. "We grew up there in the Antelope Valley, we have so many friends, families that loved Robert.""We greatly appreciate everyone," the statement reads. "Thank you for standing with us during this difficult time."#JusticeforRobertFuller trended on Twitter as people demanded answers on whether his case was being investigated as a hate crime, and some marched outside the Palmdale Sheriff's Department.An unidentified person was also recorded giving an emotional speech to protesters who were at the site where Fuller was found."Stop letting this stuff happen," they said in the video, fighting back tears. "... I was just saying about George Floyd, are we just going to wait until it's somebody we know? Now it is somebody I know, and it's not right."A <a href="https://www.change.org/p/los-angeles-sheriff-s-department-palmdale-station-justice-for-robert-fuller?recruiter=38685381&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&amp;utm_term=psf_combo_share_abi&amp;recruited_by_id=07e4aca0-4187-0130-4615-3c764e049b1030-4615-3c764e049b10">petition</a> made rounds on Twitter — also shared by <a href="https://twitter.com/KimKardashian/status/1271559605773049858">celebrity Kim Kardashian West</a> — demanding a full and thorough investigation for Fuller.As of 9 p.m. ET, the petition had gathered more than 40,000 signatures."During such a heightened time with the <keyword id="2771111" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="black-lives-matter">Black Lives Matter</keyword> movement and the city's quickness to call his death a suicide before any investigation, there is reason to believe that Robert's death was a <keyword id="59033" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="lynching">lynching</keyword>," the description of the petition read, adding that the Palmdale and the Antelope Valley have a "history of racism and negligence.""We demand the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Palmdale Station and the City of Palmdale to conduct a full, thorough investigation into Robert's death," the petition continued. "We demand security footage in Poncitlán Square to be presented and audio of the call placed when his body was found. We demand justice to be served for Robert and his loved ones."

Community demands an investigation after a Black man was found dead hanging from tree outside of Palmdale City Hall

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A 38-year-old Black man found hanging from a tree in Victorville, California, on May 31, died by apparent <keyword id="6356238" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="suicide">suicide</keyword>, according to his family.</li><li>Malcolm Harsch's autopsy showed that there were "no signs of foul play," according to the San Bernadino County Sheriff's Department.</li><li>Harsch was one of two men who were found dead in alleged hangings in the state.</li><li>Federal and state authorities will investigate whether the two deaths are linked in any way.</li></ul>The family of a man whose body was found hanging from a tree in California believe he died by apparent suicide, according to a spokesman.Najee Ali, a community activist and spokesman for the family of 38-year-old Malcolm Harsch, said in the statement that the family believes he died by suicide after police showed them "video evidence."Harsch, who was homeless, was found hanging from a tree in Victorville, California, on May 31. Detectives working on the case had obtained surveillance footage from a vacant building near where the incident occurred and showed it to the family per their request. His autopsy, which was conducted on June 12, showed that there were "no signs of foul play," according to the San Bernadino County Sheriff's Department.However, the forensic pathologist is still waiting for the full toxicology results before confirming the cause of death."Although there remains no sign of foul play, the forensic pathologist is waiting for toxicology results before assigning the cause and manner of death," the department said in a statement.Earlier this week, the Sheriff's Department offered more details of the incident, saying officers were called to a homeless encampment in the area."The caller said she and [her] boyfriend, later identified as Malcolm Harsch, had been together during the morning, but she had since returned to her tent for a short period of time. She was alerted by others in the encampment that Mr. Harsch was found hanging from a tree and cut down. People in the encampment were performing CPR, attempting to revive Mr. Harsch," the statement said, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-19/malcolm-harsch-committed-suicide-family">according to the Los Angeles Times.</a>"The family wants to sincerely thank everyone for their support and prayers," Ali wrote.Harsch's sister, Harmonie, described her brother on Facebook as being a "caring" person. "He was caring. Respectable. Talented. Loved his music. He was a son, a brother, a dad, a grandfather, a friend and he love every single person like his family," she wrote.<div type="image" title="Robert Fuller Black Lives Matter protest Palmdale" height="2023" width="2697" msid="76484220" hostid="261"></div>Harsch was <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/18/us/palmdale-hanging-half-brother-deputy-involved-shooting/index.html">one of two men found dead in alleged hangings in California.</a>Last week, Robert Fuller, a 24-year-old Black man, was also found hanging from a tree near City Hall in Palmdale, California, which is roughly 53 miles away from where Harsch died.His death was ruled an apparent suicide by the county medical examiner-coroner's office, <a href="https://www.insider.com/state-fbi-to-oversee-probe-into-black-mans-hanging-death-2020-6">which prompted an outcry by his family who doesn't believe he was suicidal and has since asked for an independent investigation and autopsy. </a>The incident prompted large protests as demonstrators backed the family. Senator Kamala Harris, rapper and actor Jaden Smith, and the lawyer for George's Floyd's family, Ben Crump, were among those calling for a further investigation."The initial report appeared to be consistent with a suicide but we felt it prudent to roll that back and continue to look deeper," Dr. Jonathan Lucas said Monday at a <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> conference.Authorities said there was nothing to indicate foul play and that officers at the scene only found rope and a backpack in the park.Details of the case continued to unfold this week, when a family attorney said that Fuller's half-brother, Terron Jammal Boone, was killed in a deputy-involved shooting in Kern County on Wednesday."This afternoon I had to notify the sisters of Robert Fuller that their half-brother Terron Jammal Boone was killed by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies in Kern County," Jamon Hicks said in a statement, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/18/us/palmdale-hanging-half-brother-deputy-involved-shooting/index.html">according to CNN.</a>Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said his team would consult with San Bernardino detectives to see if there are any commonalities between the two deaths.Their deaths come amid nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/pride-and-black-lives-matter-movement-march-together-for-change-2020-6">18 photos show how Pride and Black Lives Matter supporters are rallying together for change</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/300-red-bull-employees-criticized-response-to-black-lives-matter-2020-6">More than 300 Red Bull employees signed a letter expressing 'concern' about the company's response to Black Lives Matter and asking for 'internal action.' Read their note to executives.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taco-bell-apologizes-worker-fired-for-black-lives-matter-mask-2020-6">Taco Bell apologizes and says that it does not ban employees from wearing Black Lives Matter masks after a worker was fired for doing so in a viral video</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/state-fbi-to-oversee-probe-into-black-mans-hanging-death-2020-6">Black Lives Matter protesters toppled and burned the capital's only Confederate statue amid Juneteenth celebrations</a></li></ul>

The death of a homeless Black man in California involved no foul play and he died by suicide, his family said

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the new edition of Insider Today. Please <a href="https://www.insider.com/insider-today">sign up here</a>.<h2>QUOTE OF THE DAY</h2>"I would put on my old uniform and go to war all over again to protect the right of Tucker Carlson and <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> to say offensive things on TV and Twitter." — <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/opinion/tammy-duckworth-tucker-carlson.html">Sen. Tammy Duckworth</a>, responding in The New York Times to Carlson and Trump's attacks on her patriotism.<h2>WHAT'S HAPPENING</h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-rising-cases-hospitalizations-herald-surge-in-us-deaths-2020-7">Death tolls are rising in key states.</a> Caseloads continue to rise at alarming rates especially in the South and West, and now <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/us/daily-virus-death-toll-rises-in-some-states.html">deaths are also climbing</a> in Texas, Arizona, and Florida, among other states. Nearly 60% of Americans say <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nearly-60-of-americans-believe-us-is-reopening-too-quickly-abc-poll-2020-7">we've opened too quickly.</a> Goya Foods is facing boycott threats after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goya-faces-boycott-threats-over-ceos-praise-for-trump-2020-7">Robert Unanue says US is "truly blessed" to have Trump as president.</a> Unanue's grandparents founded Goya, the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the US. Julian Castro and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are among those condemning his statement. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-economic-plan-billion-buy-american-trump-nationalism-election-tax-2020-7">Biden unveils $700 billion "Buy American" economic plan.</a> It focuses on increasing demand for US-made goods and investing in breakthrough technologies. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/turkish-court-clears-path-for-hagia-sophia-museum-to-become-a-mosque-again/2020/07/10/d1d7a06a-c215-11ea-8908-68a2b9eae9e0_story.html">The Hagia Sophia will become a mosque again.</a> The glorious, 1,500-year-old building was a cathedral for 1,000 years, then a mosque for 500 years before it became a museum in 1935. Turkish President Erdogan, a devout Muslim, pushed to end its secular status. Meanwhile, Notre Dame Cathedral will be <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/notre-dame-to-be-rebuilt-as-it-was-before-the-fire-french-government-says/2020/07/09/f28eafba-c215-11ea-8908-68a2b9eae9e0_story.html">rebuilt exactly as it was</a> before the fire — no modern spire!<h2>VIEWS OF THE DAY</h2><h2><div type="image" title="FILE - In this June 25, 2020, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, center, speaks to Stacie Ritter, right, and her son, Jan, during a meeting with families who have benefited from the Affordable Care Act in Lancaster, Pa. Biden is hoping to capture Florida and other pivotal states by pushing Latino turnout rates higher than when Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)" height="1866" width="3732" msid="76900727" hostid="261"></div></h2>Trump needs to find a better nickname for BidenAccording to news reports, <keyword id="99719" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Joe-Biden">Joe Biden</keyword> is a elderly man who lives in a Delaware basement. We've heard that Biden was once Vice President of the United States and a US senator. Apparently, he is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. The Trump campaign confronts a huge problem: Americans don't have strong opinions about Joe Biden, don't seem to want to have strong opinions about him, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/us/biden-trump-campaign.html?action=click&amp;module=Top%20Stories&amp;pgtype=HomepageHomepage">aren't paying much attention to what Republicans are saying about him</a>. The greatest taunter in American <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword>, Trump swept to power by naming and degrading his opponents. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nicknames_used_by_Donald_Trump">This list of Trump-coined nicknames</a> may be his greatest accomplishment.) Americans don't like Trump, but he made us dislike his rivals more, especially Low-energy Jeb Bush and Crooked Hillary Clinton. Biden has so far eluded Trump's dagger, partly by hibernating as Trump flounders through the pandemic, and partly by being a nondescript old guy. Only 28% of Americans have a strongly unfavorable view of Biden, an amazingly tiny number in this environment. And he's way, way less unpopular than Hillary Clinton was this time four years ago. She had a minus-22 net favorability rating, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/biden-far-less-unpopular-hillary-clinton-was-four-years-ago-n1231055">while Biden is just minus-1</a>. (Trump is minus-31!) Trump just can't figure out how to smear Biden because, as a boring white man, he just doesn't set off Trump or Trump's supporters the way Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton did. Trump has tried depicting Biden as "creepy," but that's not working, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-host-trump-campaign-latest-attack-biden-sandra-smith-2020-7">even with his own people</a>. He's tried harder to make "Sleepy Joe" stick, but that also isn't grabbing voters. If anything, Sleepy Joe sounds like a relief. If only we had a president who was sleeping, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-schedule-daily-routine-2018-1#trumps-daily-routine-didnt-work-for-me-6">who didn't wake up at 5:30 am to tweet and watch Fox</a>. The economy is sinking. The pandemic is raging. Trash-talking represents Trump's best opportunity to win in November, which means he needs to figure out how to demonize Biden and fast. As Republican consultant Nelson Warfield told The New York Times: "I made my first negative ad starring Hillary Clinton in 1992 and I kept doing ads criticizing her across the next 24 years. And I was by no means alone. Republicans have months to do to Biden what Republicans had over two decades to do to Hillary." — DPBut Trump and his allies have already landed on a line of attack against BidenHis alleged "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-increasingly-preoccupied-with-defending-his-physical-and-mental-health/2020/06/22/c7e0a95c-b3ed-11ea-9b0f-c797548c1154_story.html">cognitive decline</a>."Now, it's no secret that the former vice president has never been the most eloquent speaker, and he is 77 years old. But Biden has also spoken of a <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/01/joe-biden-stutter-profile/602401/">lifelong struggle with stuttering</a>, and his campaign released a summary of his most recent medical exam in December which described him as "healthy" and vigorous." The president, for his part, was roundly mocked last month for being <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/26/politics/donald-trump-second-term/index.html">unable to articulate a single ambition he wants to pursue in a second term</a> during a Fox News town hall hosted by Sean Hannity, arguably Trump's most prominent media sycophant.Once again on Fox News last night, following a 70-second supercut of Biden verbal gaffes, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7b1NMMoqR4">Hannity asked Trump</a> if he thought the Biden campaign was trying to get the candidate to back out of a debate for fear that he'd be embarrassed. "He hasn't taken any cognitive test, because he couldn't pass one," Trump said. "I actually took one when I, very recently, when I was, you know, the radical left was saying 'is he all there, is he all there,' and I proved I was all there because I aced it. I aced the test. And he should take the same exact test." — Anthony Fisher<div type="image" title="Donald Trump Stephen Miller immigration visa executive order" height="1299" width="1732" msid="76900730" hostid="261"></div>Another perverse attack on legal immigrantsThis administration, so incompetent in controlling the pandemic, is proving diabolically capable at restricting <keyword id="50403" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Immigration">immigration</keyword>. The Washington Post reports that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-the-trump-administration-is-turning-legal-immigrants-into-undocumented-ones/2020/07/09/15c1cbf6-c203-11ea-9fdd-b7ac6b051dc8_story.html">USCIS has massively scaled back printing </a>of essential papers that legal immigrants need, notably green cards. Citing budget constraints, USCIS has canceled work at one of its two contract printers and reduced production at the other, leaving legal residents in a state of undocumented limbo. Also this week, the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/07/09/889301025/u-s-broadcasting-agency-will-not-extend-visas-for-its-foreign-journalists">Voice of America, under a new Trump-allied CEO</a>, decided not to renew visas for foreign nationals who work there. And the administration continues its efforts to expel international students who attend colleges that have adopted online classes to get through the pandemic. These policies and many other Trump anti-immigrant efforts betray the administration's fundamental lack of confidence in America. The Stephen Millerized White House believes that immigrants are coming to steal from us, and take our money and ideas back to their home countries. International students are here to exploit our system and heist our intellectual property for China. Foreign reporters are here to subvert VOA. The White House sees immigrants as spies and fifth columnists fundamentally loyal to a foreign nation, rather than dreamers galvanized by the American promise. Historically, international students often stay here and become the most productive, creative workers in the economy. Foreign reporters become inspired here, and become evangelists for American values. For all its America Firstism, the Trump White House doesn't trust America enough to believe that it can inspire this generation of students and green card holders. — DPBiden's 'Buy American' plan is good, but it needs teethOn Thursday, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden made a speech outlining a plan to revive the middle class in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In it, he promised to invest in manufacturing and tech (outside Silicon Valley); reverse the Trump tax cuts; support shareholder capitalism; and get corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.This is all very good, but it's going to need teeth, and the biggest tooth is antitrust enforcement.In part, a renewed focus on antitrust will be necessary to preserve the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that survived the pandemic. When it's over the SMEs that survived will likely need more help than their corporate counterparts, putting them at risk for consolidation. That means the government will have to keep a watchful eye on <keyword id="31671" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="markets">markets</keyword> to ensure that little guys aren't swallowed by the big ones.Then there's the task of cleaning up consolidation in our current markets. Even before the pandemic (and increasingly after the financial crisis), the US was becoming a country of bigger and bigger companies using their power to destroy competition and limit consumer choice. We see that in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/break-up-facebook-and-other-big-american-companies-2019-5">tech</a>, <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/88057/eib-189.pdf">agriculture</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/12/03/784553287/what-does-it-mean-when-2-giant-newspaper-companies-merge">media</a>, telecommunications, and healthcare.We need to update and enforce antitrust regulations that were left to wither after their relevance was questioned starting in the 1970s. Back then, legal scholars started to argue that antitrust should be defined by how corporate consolidation impacts price and only price, not competition in general. Four decades later and we now have an economy of companies too powerful to regulate and too big to compete with. Just ask any company that's tried to go head to head with Facebook.It's time to change the game by going back to basics. Back in 1890, Sen. John Sherman — for whom our Sherman Antitrust legislation is named — famously declared: "If we will not endure a king as a political power, we should not endure a king over the production, transportation, and sale of any of the necessaries of life." He's still right 130 years later. — Linette Lopez<h2>BUSINESS &amp; ECONOMY</h2><div type="image" title="fudge brownie m&amp;m" height="821" width="1094" msid="76900732" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/launching-a-new-mms-flavor-amid-pandemic-mars-brilliant-strategy-2020-7">Mars Wrigley launched a new M&amp;M flavor, fudge brownie, during the pandemic</a>. The company's president explains how they pulled it off.<h2>LIFE</h2><div type="image" title="Marisa Scheinfeld GRossinger's" height="600" width="800" msid="76900734" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.insider.com/abandoned-places-us-then-and-now-2019-4">What 10 iconic abandoned places looked like before they became ruins</a>. The Houston Astrodome, Grossinger's Resort, NY's first subway station..."<a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/B-f1rwUAciU/?igshid=17byreghbo6rr">Everything in this world is shut down ... The only thing that is open is NOTHING</a>." Making the rounds on Instagram: an extremely darling four-year-old ranting about the pandemic.<h2>THE BIG 3*</h2><a href="https://www.insider.com/california-police-robert-fuller-death-deemed-suicide-2020-7">California police conclude Robert Fuller died by suicide</a>. The Black man was found hanging from a tree on June 10, prompting protests and demand for an investigation.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcconnell-stimulus-checks-income-cutoff-trump-economy-payments-second-round-2020-7">McConnell floated $40,000 cutoff for next wave of stimulus checks.</a> Republicans want to narrow the number of people receiving the government aid. The McConnell cutoff would exclude 20 million households covered by the first round of checks, which went to individuals with incomes up to $75,000. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-host-trump-campaign-latest-attack-biden-sandra-smith-2020-7">Fox host refuses to listen to Trump spokesperson's latest, strange attack on Biden.</a> Hogan Gidley started talking about Biden's leg hair. It was weird. Fox's Sandra Smith wouldn't listen. *The most popular stories on Insider today.

Trump needs to find a better nickname for Biden, and fast.

<div type="image" title="black trans lives matter protest brooklyn jun 14.JPG" height="959" width="1917" msid="76413107" hostid="261"></div>A version of this post appeared in "<keyword id="9095853" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="insider-today">Insider Today</keyword>," a daily email written by Henry Blodget and David Plotz. To receive it in your inbox, please <a href="http://insider.com/insidertoday" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sign up here</a>.The US <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> response is a national disgraceMost developed countries have throttled the coronavirus and are gradually resuming life as usual. But not the United States. The U.S. response to the coronavirus is by far the worst in the G7. And it's still one of the worst in the world.Germany, Italy, Spain, South Korea, Japan, the UK… all were hit hard by the coronavirus. And all have now reduced their new cases to a small and manageable number.Meanwhile, after plateauing but never fully declining, cases in the United States have begun growing again.Here, from <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus">Our World in Data</a>, is a chart showing new confirmed cases per day per million people. Yes, confirmed cases are being boosted by increased testing. But testing capacity has increased everywhere. And still the US is an outlier.<div type="image" title="Screen Shot 2020 06 16 at 8.46.15 AM" height="1017" width="1600" msid="76413109" hostid="261"></div>Nearly 120,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus, and about 750 are still dying every day. Meanwhile, our president is just saying more stupid things ("If we stop testing, we'd have very few cases") and pretending the problem no longer exists.You can believe that the coronavirus is not a serious threat to you, your family, or your community. You can point out that the coronavirus is mostly killing old and sick people. You can observe that "life is risky" and that we choose to live it anyway. You can believe that "lockdowns" were overkill and that the government should have focused on mask-wearing instead.But you cannot deny that the US has royally screwed this up and that we'll be paying for our incompetence for months if not years.The US coronavirus response is a national disgrace. — HBFinally, a coronavirus drug that appears to help!<div type="image" title="coronavirus patient hospital drug trial TACTIC-R" height="1150" width="2300" msid="76413114" hostid="261"></div>A big drug trial in the UK has concluded that a cheap, widely available<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dexamethasone-may-cut-risk-death-coronavirus-ventilator-patient-2020-6"> steroid called Dexamethasone</a> helps reduce the percentage of seriously ill coronavirus patients who die from the disease.The drug appears to reduce the impact of "cytokine storms," a part of the body's immune response that occasionally goes too far and kills people.In the study, the drug reduced the death rate of patients on ventilators from 40% to 28% and of patients needing oxygen from 25% to 20%.Unlike many early tests of potential coronavirus drugs, the UK trial was a robust "randomized control trial." Its results, therefore, are more likely to withstand scrutiny and additional tests. As Dr. Atul Gawande <a href="https://twitter.com/Atul_Gawande/status/1272880206408290304">pointed out this morning</a>, however, the UK findings were revealed via a press release, not a full study write-up, so it's too early to celebrate. In light of the tragically weak US response to the coronavirus, one of the few remaining hopes has been a fast vaccine or therapy. Dexamethasone does not appear to be a miracle cure. But if the findings of the UK test hold up, it will help. — HBThe <keyword id="9316626" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="george-floyd-protests">George Floyd protests</keyword> have become five different movements. <div type="image" title="george floyd protest banner washington dc" height="1968" width="3936" msid="76413119" hostid="261"></div>The George Floyd protest movement has branched into at least five different movements, all related but each pursuing its own goals. The first and most important movement is the fast-moving, highly contentious local effort to radically reform police departments. Defund the Police is a rallying cry, but this is highly varied campaign varying city by city depending on local activists, politicians, and police officials. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/07/us/protests-today-george-floyd-video.html?action=click&amp;module=Well&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;section=US%20Newson=US%20News">In Minneapolis</a>, the City Council seems serious about dismantling and rebuilding law enforcement. Seattle has the police-free Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. San Francisco will<a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-12/san-francisco-police-reforms-stop-response-noncriminal-calls"> stop sending officers</a> to respond to non-criminal matters, instead dispatching health professionals and social workers. Every city is different, and each battle will be fought locally. The local movement is much more significant than the reform movement taking shape in Washington. National politicians have glommed onto the Floyd protests, some because they are true believers, and others because they're scared. Democrats are pushing changes to federal laws that are radical by the standards of two months ago — banning choke holds — but fairly weak tea compared to local efforts. The president and Senate Republicans aren't even offering tea, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-to-unveil-police-reform-proposals-that-fall-short-of-what-activists-have-demanded/2020/06/15/f258ff5c-af1c-11ea-8758-bfd1d045525a_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-high_trumppolice-800pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans">just lukewarm water</a> in the form of quite limited reforms. Partisan dynamics ensure that the Democrats' most ambitious reforms will fail. So don't pay attention to Washington, which will make a lot of noise and accomplish little. The third movement is the continuing, anguished protest about specific acts of violence against Blacks. The police killing of Rayshard Brooks is inspiring huge demonstrations in Atlanta, and ousted the police chief. Protests over <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/15/california-robert-fuller-hanging-death-invetigation">the mysterious hanging death of Robert Fuller</a> have prompted an FBI investigation. These demonstrations, which focus on seeking justice in particular cases, are emotionally powerful. As we saw in the case of Floyd's death, these protests about individual cases can become the fuel that motivates protesters to seek broader reforms. The fourth movement is the widespread fight over statues, symbols, and names. Spun out of the Floyd protests, these symbolic battles have taken on a life of their own. In <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/16/albuquerque-militia-shooting-protest/">New Mexico,</a> they've toppled statues of Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate and produced conflict with armed counterprotesters. In Virginia, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/change-the-world-two-students-start-with-their-neighborhood-and-find-its-not-so-neighborly/2020/06/15/0818da60-af0e-11ea-8f56-63f38c990077_story.html">Stonewall Manor neighborhood split</a> when college students proposed taking Stonewall Jackson's name and image off it. Richmond is seething over the Robert E. Lee statue that lords over the city, and a judge's delay in removing it. The argument over Army bases named after Confederate generals, the banning of the Confederate flag at Nascar events, the defacing of statues of colonialist brutes — these are part of the same movement. It's a long overdue reckoning with American history. The fifth movement is the battle within workplaces about inequality and systemic racism. The media industry, for example, has convulsed over the past few weeks as staffers surfaced longstanding complaints about the toxic culture at places like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bon-appetit-adam-rapoport-toxic-racism-culture-2020-6?_ga=2.92575454.279247961.1591540471-746452348.1587515977">Bon Appetit </a>and Refinery 29. Hollywood and the food industry are erupting in similar ways. The Floyd protests drew attention to systemic racism, and that has emboldened workers to speak up about wrongs in their industry. In all these cases, the Floyd protests were the spark, but each of these movements will flow at its own pace and achieve its own ends. — DPIf you're enjoying this story, <a href="https://www.insider.com/insider-today">sign up now for the Insider Today newsletter</a>, to receive more of these insights from Henry Blodget and David PlotzPlease don't ruin the <keyword id="238612" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Voice-of-America">Voice of America</keyword>The <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/15/media/voice-of-america-top-officials-resign/index.html">Director and Deputy Director of Voice of America resigned</a> on Monday, following the senate confirmation of Trump ally Michael Pack as CEO of <a href="https://www.usagm.gov/who-we-are/">US Agency for Global Media</a>, which encompasses VOA and four smaller U.S. government broadcasters. VOA is an odd beast: It was created to provide trustworthy news from an American perspective to an international audience, many living in countries without an independent media. And that's what it's done for 75 years, often under the leadership of great journalists such as departing director Amanda Bennett, a brilliant newspaper editor and Pulitzer winner. The Trump administration accused Bennett's VOA of spinning stories in China's favor and clearly wants to remake the agency. Pack, who makes conservative-tilting documentary films, is a Steve Bannon acolyte. Given Bennett's departure, Trump's record, and Pack's history, there are fears that VOA's mission will be twisted, and it will spew Trumpish propaganda rather than report the news. According to one report, Sebastian Gorka is already being considered for a seat on the USAGM board.What we've learned agonizingly during the Trump years is that you can break in minutes something that took generations to build. Decades of steady work has made VOA trusted worldwide. In the wrong hands, that reputation could collapse in months. — DPFine — dump the SAT. But replace it with a really hard test. <div type="image" title="Student SAT Test Studying" height="600" width="1200" msid="76413124" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/15/metro/harvard-drops-standardized-test-requirement-2021/">Harvard won't require the SAT or the ACT for applicants next year</a>, joining the rest of the Ivy League and more than half of American colleges and universities in dropping the standardized test prerequisite. This is no tragedy. The SAT and ACT indicate nothing (or at best extremely little) about how well students perform in college. And like so much else in the college admissions grind, they're gamed by rich people, who pay for score-boosting tutors. Many of the schools dropping the tests next year will never reinstate them, because they'll discover no meaningful difference between the class of 2025 and previous classes. So don't mourn the loss of the ACT and SAT. But do mourn the high school test we don't have. As <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/books/review/amanda-ripleys-smartest-kids-in-the-world.html?_r=0">this brilliant book</a> points out, all the best high school systems in the world build up to a grueling, challenging final exam. Not an insipid SAT, but a truly demanding test of everything kids have learned. The US lacks a national curriculum or even national standards, instead limping by with a mess of state guidance and local school districts. One result: American schools are way too easy. American kids would be better prepared for the global economy and more productive citizens if we worked them harder in high school, held them all to the same standards, and forced them to take a brutal final exam to graduate. — DPIs Liberty the most important American university?<div type="image" title="jerry falwell jr" height="1821" width="3642" msid="76413126" hostid="261"></div> The story of Saturday's Republican congressional primary in Virginia's 5th district is <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/riggleman-same-sex-marriage/612991/">bonkers</a>, but comes down to: Very conservative incumbent Denver Riggleman officiated at a gay wedding, got primaried by an even-more-conservative evangelical Christian, and lost in a weird drive-through vote. The primary is also fascinating because it represents the continued ascendance of Liberty University in Republican <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword>. Bob Good, who won the primary, is a former athletic official at Liberty, the school founded by Jerry Falwell and now run by his son Jerry Falwell Jr. Several conservative Christian colleges have dabbled around politics over the past 20 years, including Patrick Henry, The King's College, and Bob Jones, Liberty now prevails, largely because Falwell Jr. has so masterfully aligned himself with Trump. Early on, Falwell Jr. made the compromise that many conservative evangelicals have come to, that Trump's personal morality is irrelevant because he champions evangelical issues. On Israel, Charlottesville, and reopening, Falwell Jr. ends up articulating Trump's positions more aggressively than even the president does, which has made him a beloved ally of the president and made Liberty the preeminent university of Trumpist evangelicals. Falwell Jr. had endorsed Riggleman in the primary because he would have had an easier run in the general election. But he'll quickly align himself with Good, whose ascendance is another step up for Liberty. — DP

You Searched For "Robert Fuller" and got 8 results

The town where Robert Fuller was found dead has a history of racism that has fueled speculation over his death

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The George Floyd protests have become 5 different movements

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