Jobs Report Tests Bidenâs Economic Strategy
Last Updated
May 8, 2021, 2:16 p.m. ETMay 8, 2021, 2:16 p.m. ET
Business groups and Republicans argue that a $300 weekly supplement to unemployment benefits is hurting the economy, but administration officials disagree. Four former Minneapolis police officers are accused of depriving George Floyd of his civil rights. Texas lawmakers advanced a bill restricting voting rights.
Hereâs what you need to know:
-0:00
Disappointing Jobs Report Tests Bidenâs Economic Strategy
President Biden delivered an optimistic speech Friday, following the release of Aprilâs jobs report, which found that the economy only added 266,000 jobs last month.
Table of Contents
The Feds Are Investigating Local Police Departments Again. Here s What to Expect.
New Orleans police officers line up during a Black Lives Matter protest last June. New Orleans law enforcement has been under a federal consent decree since 2013.
Gerald Herbert
The U.S. Justice Department is back in the business of policing local police.
After a four-year hiatus under President Donald Trump, the federal government will once again investigate local law enforcement agencies for systemic constitutional violations, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced last month. First in the queue are the police departments of Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky.
Former Police Officer Derek Chauvin’s conviction for murdering George Floyd has reenergized President Biden and Washington lawmakers aiming for reform.
Justin Bamberg, a South Carolina-based lawyer who has been involved in several cases involving shooting deaths at the hands of police, said he hoped the conviction marked “a turning point in civil rights, and just as important, opens the minds of law enforcement that you can be held accountable for your actions.”
Bamberg, who is Black, called the case a “great day for Mr. Floyd’s family, and everyone across America who believes in equal justice for all.”
In many quarters, though, there was sorrowful acknowledgement that the conviction brought little real solace.