From viral videos to Fox News: how rightwing media fueled the critical race theory panic Viral videos of impassioned parents denouncing critical race theory at school board hearings have become a cornerstone of the movement to ban its teaching. In one such video, a mother declares critical race theory (CRT) to be “a tactic used by Hitler and the Ku Klux Klan on slavery very many years ago to dumb down my ancestors so we could not think for ourselves”. In another, a woman calls CRT “the American version of the Chinese cultural revolution”. A third mother says she has proof that her local school board is “teaching our children to go out and murder police officers”. The videos, and their spread online, are emblematic of the way the campaign to ban CRT has combined genuine grassroots anger, institutional backing, and a highly effective rightwing propaganda machine to propel critical race theory from academic obscurity to center stage in the US political debate. That movement has gained tremendous ground at great speed. Legislation seeking to limit the teaching of CRT has been introduced in at least 22 states this year, and enacted in six: Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Statewide resolutions against CRT have also been passed in Florida, Georgia and Utah. “This was a massive campaign that has borne fruit in very dramatic fashion,” said Emerson Sykes, a first amendment lawyer with the ACLU, which is exploring litigation to combat these bills. “It’s going to take a massive campaign to try to push back against that.” The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s board of trustees granted tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones. Hannah-Jones is the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who created the New York Times “1619 Project” which commemorated the 400th anniversary of the beginning of slavery in what would become the US and its lasting impact. The trustees voted 9-4 to grant her tenure as Knight chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at the university’s Hussman School of Journalism. The school had initially delayed tenure to Hannah-Jones, despite offering it previous Knight chairs, amid backlash from conservatives who took issue with her work n the 1619 Project. The dispute over tenure had come amid escalating right-wing drive across the US to ban the teaching of the 1619 Project and “critical race theory” in schools. During the closed session meeting. of the trustees, demonstrators were forcibly removed by police. In New York’s mayoral Democratic primaries, revised vote counts have Eric Adams in the lead by a thin margin. Adams, a former police captain and Brooklyn borough president, was leading over former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia and civil rights lawyer Maya Wiley, who was trailing Garcia in a close third. Some 125,000 ballots have yet to be counted in the ranked-choice election. As my colleague Adam Gabbat reported earlier today: The mayoral election had been thrown into chaos after the board of elections mistakenly included 135,000 “test ballots” in its vote tally. The board of elections had published updated vote totals for the Democratic primary earlier on Tuesday, which showed Kathryn Garcia, New York’s former sanitation commissioner, narrowing the gap on Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, to less than two points. Hours later, however, the board of elections said it had become aware of a “discrepancy” in its report. The elections board said its calculations had included “both test and election night results, producing approximately 135,000 additional records”. The error is likely to sow unfortunate confusion around the system of ranked choice voting, which was used for the first time in a New York City mayoral election this year. Ranked choice voting allowed voters to rank up to five candidates for mayor, and Tuesday night’s vote tally was supposed to give New Yorkers an early glimpse at how the race was shaping up after rankings from early and in-person votes had been calculated. Instead, the city has provided fuel to election conspiracy theorists nationwide, with millions still convinced the presidential election was fraudulent. There is no evidence of mass fraud in either the New York City mayoral election or the presidential election. The US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said the Delta variant is worrying. The variant, which is thought to be the most transmissible version of Covid-19 yet, is likely responsible for the plateauing or increasing cases in parts of the US. “If you are not vaccinated, then you are in trouble,” he said in an interview with CNN. “This is a serious threat, and we are seeing it spread among unvaccinated people.” The available coronavirus vaccines provide protection against the Delta – but many American either are not seeking out vaccines or have issues accessing the vaccine. People who are immunocompromised are also at risk, because unable to derive full protection from the vaccine. New York mayor Bill de Blasio is asking residents to conserve energy to avoid blackouts or brownouts amid a searing heatwave. Parts of New York city saw power outages as residents and businesses across the city cranked up their air conditioners. Con Edison, the energy company serving the region, reduced voltage to certain neighborhoods after a power line burned. Today so far That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours. Here’s where the day stands so far: The House approved a resolution to form a select committee to investigate the January 6 insurrection. The final vote was 222 to 190, with two Republicans -- Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger -- joining all Democrats to pass the measure. The vote comes one month after Senate Republicans blocked the House-approved bill to form a bipartisan commission to study the Capitol attack. Former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld died at 88. Rumsfeld served as defense secretary for Gerald Ford and later George W Bush. He was best known for launching the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, a legacy that attracted many critics. Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction was overturned by the Pennsylvania supreme court. The court ruled that Cosby’s damning testimony in a civil case could not be used in a criminal trial because of a prior agreement with prosecutors. Joe Biden met with governors of western states as the region battles a historic heat wave. The president outlined the steps his administration is taking to prepare for wildfire season, including raising pay to at least $15 an hour for all federal firefighters. The Trump Organization is expected to be charged with tax-related crimes tomorrow, according to multiple reports. The chief financial officer of Donald Trump’s company, Allen Weisselberg, is also expected to be charged in connection with allegations that he failed to properly report company perks. Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned. Some members of the US Capitol Police force and the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington were present for the House vote. USCP Officer Harry Dunn told NBC News after the vote, “The commission is happening. And I just ask that everybody takes it serious.” Michael Fanone, the MPD officer who was injured during the Capitol insurrection and has called on House minority leader Kevin McCarthy to denounce conspiracy theories spread by his members, was also on Capitol Hill today. Adam Kinzinger, one of only two House Republicans who voted in favor of forming a select committee to investigate the 6 January insurrection, emphasized the need for a “full accounting” of the attack. “We need answers on who was involved in the insurrection and who played a role in orchestrating it. We need transparency and truth,” the Illinois congressman said in a statement. Echoing Liz Cheney, Kinzinger said a bipartisan commission would have been preferable to a select committee, but the commission bill was blocked by Senate Republicans last month. “Today, I voted in support of the Select Committee (H.Res.503) because the truth matters,” Kinzinger said. “We have to put the partisan political divisions aside and put the interests of our country and our democracy at the forefront. And as I said before, we cannot let fear stop us from doing what is right.” Liz Cheney explained why she voted for the January 6 select committee in a statement, emphasizing that she saw the committee as the only remaining option to investigate the insurrection. The Republican congresswoman noted she still considered a bipartisan commission to be the best way to investigate the Capitol attack. However, the commission bill failed in the Senate last month. “It is right to be wary of an overtly partisan inquiry,” Cheney said. “But Congress is obligated to conduct a full investigation of the most serious attack on our Capitol since 1814. ... I believe this select committee is our only remaining option. I will vote to support it.” Cheney described the investigation as vital to protecting American democracy, saying, “We must ensure that what happened on January 6, 2021 never happens again.” House passes resolution to form select committee to investigate Capitol insurrection The House has approved the resolution to form a select committee to investigate the insurrection of January 6. The final vote was 222 to 190, with two Republicans -- Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger -- joining all Democrats to pass the measure. The vote comes one month after the House passed a bill to form a bipartisan commission to study the Capitol attack, a proposal that attracted the support of 35 Republicans. But that bill died in the Senate because of a Republican filibuster. Most of the House Republicans who supported the commission bill voted against forming a select committee. Donald Rumsfeld served as the secretary of defense for Presidents Gerald Ford and George W Bush, with about three decades separating his two terms. Before becoming Ford’s defense secretary, Rumsfeld served as an Illinois congressman, a US ambassador to Nato and a White House chief of staff. But Rumsfeld will likely be most remembered for launching the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a legacy that attracted many critics. However, Rumsfeld never apologized for guiding the US into war, consistently defending his actions despite the widespread criticism. Donald Rumsfeld dies at 88 Donald Rumsfeld, the former defense secretary who led the US into the Iraq war, has died. He was 88. Rumsfeld’s family said he died surrounded by his family in Taos, New Mexico in a statement on Wednesday. “It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Donald Rumsfeld, an American statesman and devoted husband, grandfather and great grandfather,” the family said. “History may remember him for his extraordinary accomplishments over six decades of public service, but for those who knew him best and whose lives were forever changed as a result, we will remember his unwavering love for his wife Joyce, his family and friends, and the integrity he brought to a life dedicated to country.” The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sued Joe Biden’s administration to stop the transfer of detained immigrants from a prison in New Jersey to facilities more than 100 miles away from where they are currently being held. These type of transfers can put thousands of miles between detained people and their families, friends and attorneys. ACLU-NJ executive director, Amol Sinha, said such a transfer could make those affected more vulnerable to deportation because New Jersey is one of the few states which offers legal representation to people facing deportation. “The policy of transferring people deprives community members of their rights and fails to treat them with the dignity they deserve,” Sinha said. It is the first time the ACLU has filed an immigration challenge against the Biden administration. Under Donald Trump, it was routine for the civil rights group to file lawsuits against the White House as it attempted to fundamentally shift how immigration works in the US (in four years, Trump made more than 1,000 changes to immigration law). “We sued the Trump administration over 400 times, and the Biden administration is trying to resolve many of those suits,” ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said in a statement. “Today’s suit is a challenge to a decision made by the Biden administration – it’s not a Trump hold-over.” Late last night, 2m Pfizer vaccine doses donated by the US arrived in Peru, according to the state department. Representative Norma Torres, a Democrat from California, tweeted: “With every vaccine donated to Latin America and countries around the world, we strengthen our global fight against Covid-19.” Joe Biden initially committed to donating 80m vaccine doses across the globe by the end of June. But as the deadline approached, the White House said it would be impossible to meet that goal because of legal, logistical and regulatory hurdles. This week, the US is also expected to ship 2.5m doses of the Moderna vaccine to Pakistan. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday: “Over this week, we’ll be able to announce more places that the United States will be sending our doses.” Authorities have raised the death toll from the collapsed Florida condominium to 16 people. There are still 147 people unaccounted for nearly a week after a portion of the Champlain Towers South block collapsed in the Miami suburb of Surfside. Joe and Jill Biden are scheduled to visit Surfside tomorrow. Biden will meet with families impacted by the disaster and with first responders, said Miami-Dade mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “We are deeply grateful for the support we’ve received from president Biden and the federal administration since day one, and thankful he will be visiting the site of this tragedy to spend time with the impacted families and first responders,” Levine Cava said in a statement. A reporter asked Jen Psaki whether the Delta variant of coronavirus had shifted the White House’s plans to host thousands of military families and frontline workers for a July 4th celebration. Psaki said the White House is moving forward with their plans because the vaccines have proven effective against the Delta variant. “If you have been vaccinated, the message we’re conveying is that you’re safe. These vaccines are effective,” the press secretary said. The White House press briefing has now concluded. Jen Psaki deflected a question about Joe Biden’s thinking on whether supreme court Justice Stephen Breyer will retire after the term concludes tomorrow. “We leave that decision to Justice Breyer to make,” the White House press secretary said. Psaki reiterated that, if there is an opening on the supreme court, Biden will nominate an African American woman to fill the seat. The president made that promise during the campaign. If an African American woman were nominated and confirmed, she would become the first Black woman to serve as a supreme court justice. But Psaki emphasized that the president does not know whether or when Breyer will retire. Some progressives have pushed the 82-year-old justice to retire to allow Biden to nominate a younger judge to fill the seat. “We do not know if there is an opening,” Psaki said. “We will leave it to any justice to determine the timeline of their retirement.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked if Joe Biden had any response to the Pennsylvania supreme court overturning Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction. “I don’t have a direct response from the White House to that announcement,” Psaki replied. The press secretary emphasized that the president has long been “an advocate for fighting against violence against women” and raising up the voices of survivors.