New voting standards bill signed by Governor of Georgia
On March 25, the Georgia bill referred to as SB 202 was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, which requires voters to provide photo identification even when voting through mail-in ballots, shortens the early voting period during run-off elections and prohibits the distribution of food or drinks to voters in line, among other new rules. Many have criticized the new restrictions and questioned the fact that the bill was pushed through too quickly. Georgian constituents seem overwhelmingly opposed to this bill, with many observing that this bill’s signage could be a response to the record voter turnout in the recent presidential and congressional elections, which both had Democratic outcomes. According to The Hill, on April 2, Major League Baseball announced it would be relocating the All-Star game from Atlanta in response to the restrictions, and on April 3, Kemp stated that the bill was “worth” the threats, boycotts and lawsuits.
Actress Jessica Walters dies at 80
On March 24, respected actress Jessica Walter died at 80 years of age. Walter, known for her iconic award-winning matriarchal roles as Lucille Bluth in “Arrested Development” and Malory Archer in “Archer,” is survived by her daughter Brooke Bowman. Fans of Jessica took to social media to share their favorite comedic moments and stories from the actress to commemorate her life and career.
Fox News sued for after pushing election rigging story
Fox News is now facing a lawsuit, announced on March 26, after perpetuating largely unfounded claims of election fraud after President Joe Biden’s election win. Dominion, a company that distributes voting machines and software, is suing Fox for defamation following the news channel’s claims of election rigging and fraudulent votes being counted despite a lack of evidence supporting these claims. Dominion claimed that their business has suffered and that former clients and users have lost faith in the company’s technology because of Fox News’ defamatory coverage. Dominion is expected to file additional defamation suits against other news sources who have spread the election conspiracy, including right-wing media networks like Newsmax and One America News. Dominion is still exploring the idea of subsequent lawsuits against specific anchors.
Spike in anti-Asian hate crimes
Eight people were murdered in a string of attacks targeting three separate Atlanta
based day spas. Six of the victims were Asian women. This attack adds to the increasing number of anti-Asian attacks, which have spiked since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. More Asian Americans have come forward since the attack with their own experiences of racially motivated violent encounters, both verbal and physical, over the last several months. Law enforcement officials have been hesitant to classify these encounters as racially motivated, but members of the general public have claimed that these are in fact targeted racist attacks that should be punished as such. The man who committed the crime, Robert Aaron Long, was charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault in connection with the shootings. The response across social media has been widespread support for the Asian American community as the #StopAsianHate movement gains momentum. The movement urges people to stand up and defend others when they see a racist encounter, without putting themselves in direct harm’s way, and asks that people support their local Asian businesses.
