Headlines May 10, 2023 from Democracy Now!

Embattled Republican Congressmember George Santos is expected to appear in a New York court today after federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against him. Details of the charges are not yet known, but the New York congressmember has been under investigation for his many lies around his campaign financing, biography, education and work history. Santos has defied numerous calls to resign. Separately, a hearing in Brazil is scheduled for Thursday over charges Santos committed check fraud.

In California, a state reparations task force approved recommendations on compensating and apologizing to Black residents for generations of discrimination and violence from slavery to the present day. Congressmember and U.S. Senate candidate Barbara Lee, who is helping lead a congressional push for reparations, spoke at the meeting Saturday in Oakland, which she represents in the U.S. House.

Rep. Barbara Lee: “Reparations are not a luxury for our people but a human right long overdue for millions of Americans. Millions of Americans. A promise of 40 acres and mule made to formerly enslaved people over 150 years ago has yet to be filled. And it’s critical that the promise be made — that was made to our ancestors many years ago is kept. And the process of truth-telling and racial healing, that’s got to be carried out also. The atrocities committed against Black Americans are undeniable, and reparations are a tangible route to acknowledging and making amends.”

If the measure is approved by California’s Legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom, it will provide monetary compensation to Black residents for discriminatory policies including mass incarceration, policing, housing discrimination, healthcare inequalities and environmental racism.

In labor news, Service Employees International Union workers at the union’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., have authorized a strike as they continue contract negotiations for better wages and protections. Many walked off the job Tuesday as employees accused SEIU President Mary Kay Henry and Secretary-Treasurer April Verrett of supporting union-busting tactics and refusing to negotiate in good faith.

Paramount Global is laying off 25% of its staff and shutting down MTV News. The head of Paramount Media Networks, Chris McCarthy, made the announcement to employees in an emailed memo. Paramount is also the parent company of CBS, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Showtime. The latest media layoffs come after massive job cuts at Vice and other companies, and the shuttering of BuzzFeed News.

​​David Miranda, Brazilian journalist and the first LGBTQ member of the Rio de Janeiro City Council, has died at the age of 37. The news was announced by his husband, journalist Glenn Greenwald, Tuesday. Miranda had spent nine months in intensive care after being hospitalized last August for a severe gastrointestinal infection. Tributes to Miranda, who also served in Brazil’s Congress, poured in following the news, with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva noting his “extraordinary trajectory.” Miranda, born in a favela and orphaned at the age of 5, continued to fight for Brazil’s poor and the LGTBQ community, which came under renewed attack during the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro. NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden also paid tribute to Miranda, celebrating his courage and righteousness in helping bring his leaked documents to light in 2013. Miranda was notably detained for nine hours at London’s Heathrow Airport but refused to cooperate with authorities. Snowden wrote, “It was that courage that set him free.” Miranda is survived by his husband and their two children.