Headlines February 6, 2023 from Democracy Now!

In Britain, tens of thousands of nurses and EMTs launched a coordinated strike today, the largest labor action in the history of the government-run National Health Service. More strikes are planned during the week, as health workers ramp up their demands for a living wage amid the U.K.’s worst inflation in four decades. This is a striking nurse.

Ethna Vaughn: “I think we’re going to find it harder and harder to recruit, harder and harder to retain stuff. A lot of people have left the profession already because they’re so disillusioned. I think we’ve got to look to the future, and that’s what this is all about.”

The nurses’ work stoppage comes amid a wave of strikes across various sectors in the U.K.

In Chile, wildfires have killed at least 24 people as some 260 blazes raged in the center and south of the country over recent days, fanned by dry winds and temperatures reaching as high as 104 degrees. Officials said Sunday over 1,000 square miles have been scorched. This is an evacuee in the region of La Araucanía.

Carolina Torres: “I left my house with only the clothes I was wearing. I put on a pair of slippers and some tights and left the house. There was no time to set up a firebreak, nothing. I think everyone here went through the same situation. The wind speed changed very fast, and everything suddenly started to burn. It was all very fast.”

A record-breaking Arctic blast sent temperatures plummeting across much of the northeastern United States and parts of Canada on Saturday. In New Hampshire, Mount Washington recorded the nation’s coldest-ever wind chill at minus-108 degrees Fahrenheit. The death of an infant was reported in western Massachusetts from a falling tree.

Meanwhile, in Texas, the Austin American-Statesman issued a rare front-page editorial condemning officials for their response to last week’s ice storm, which left over 150,000 Austin residents without power. Ten people were killed across the southern U.S. by the storm — seven of them in Texas — and some 460,000 people lost power.

The Democratic National Committee approved a radical overhaul of the primary calendar, making South Carolina the first primary contest of the 2024 presidential election, replacing the Iowa caucus. Primaries in Nevada, New Hampshire, Georgia and Michigan will then follow. The new voting schedule is intended to give more weight to voters of color. But New Hampshire and Georgia continue to oppose the changes and have not yet moved their primary dates. They have until June to do so, and will face sanctions if they refuse to comply, including losing half their delegates.

In Missouri, death penalty abolitionists are calling on Republican Governor Mike Parson to cancel Tuesday’s planned execution of Leonard “Raheem” Taylor, a Black man who has always maintained his innocence. Taylor was convicted on four counts of first-degree murder over the 2004 killing of his girlfriend and her three young children. Witnesses say Taylor was 2,000 miles away from the scene of the crime at the time of the murders. Taylor recently spoke from prison with Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

Leonard “Raheem” Taylor: “No, I didn’t. No, I did not. Not only did I not commit the crime, but, one, like I said, there was no motive. You know, I had no reason to commit the crime. I wasn’t even in the state of Missouri when these murders took place.”

Attorneys from the Innocence Project say Taylor’s lawyer “effectively abandoned him,” providing an incompetent defense at trial. They’re asking Governor Parson to delay the execution until a thorough investigation can be completed.

The 65th Grammy Awards were held in Los Angeles Sunday night. Beyoncé won her 32nd statue, making her the most awarded artist in the history of the Grammys. Viola Davis won for the audiobook of her memoir “Finding Me” and joins the exclusive EGOT club, having won all four major entertainment awards: an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Kim Petras and Sam Smith also made history, becoming the first openly trans and nonbinary duo to win a Grammy, bringing home an award for their hit “Unholy.”

First lady Jill Biden presented Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour with the new “song for social change” special merit award for “Baraye,” which has become an anthem for the Iranian uprising. The singer was arrested after the song went viral, and is out on bail awaiting trial.