VIDEO: Why the Far-Right Is Fawning Over Strongmen | Breaking The Vote – VICE News

From Hungary to Texas, the Breaking the Vote teams travel around the world to trace the steady rise of authoritarianism and its impact in the U.S.

Esther Byrd, QAnon-adjacent defender of Jan. 6 insurrection, appointed to Florida Board of Education

‘When Trump supporters peacefully protest, suddenly “Law and Order” is all they can talk about!’ Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Esther Byrd to the state’s Board of Education, a move that will almost certainly serve to further politicize that appointed panel. A former Marine, Mrs. Byrd is currently the legal assistant and office manager for the Law Office of Cord

DOJ: More police departments declining to report hate crimes

A rising number of law enforcement agencies are opting not to share statistics about hate crimes with the FBI — just as hate crimes are skyrocketing, according to U.S. Justice Department numbers. The big picture: The decline in reporting hurts efforts to accurately document violence against Asian Americans, Black Americans, and LGBTQ+ people, advocates and DOJ

Nearly 240 anti-LGBTQ bills filed in 2022 so far, with most targeting trans people

The annual number of anti-LGBTQ bills filed has skyrocketed over the past several years, from 41 bills in 2018 to 238 bills in less than three months of 2022. State lawmakers have proposed a record 238 bills that would limit the rights of LGBTQ Americans this year — or more than three per day —

Right-Wing Idaho Lt. Guv’s Latest Defense of Speech to Racists Is Worst Yet

The fringe politician making craven appeals to “America First” racists can’t stop talking about a notorious taped address. Facing simmering outrage over her decision to deliver a taped speech to a white-nationalist conference in Orlando last month, Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin insisted she did not know the infamous Holocaust denier who organized the event. In

CDC director rebukes DeSantis for telling teens to remove masks: ‘It is absolutely their choice’

‘Those students should have been comfortable wearing a mask’ Dr Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has rebuked Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis for scolding a group of teenagers for wearing masks. “Those students should have been comfortable wearing a mask,” Dr Walensky told MSNBC. “It is absolutely their choice.” The high school students were

Amendment to Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill would force schools to out students in 6 weeks

A new amendment to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill would explicitly require schools to inform parents of their child’s sexual orientation, and put a deadline on how soon they must tell the family. The amendment filed by bill sponsor Rep. Joe Harding, R-Williston, on Feb. 18 changes the bill to instead not only require disclosure, but requires schools to tell

Critical Race Theory: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Florida deputy fired after he is accused of framing innocent man in revenge plot

Former Lee County Deputy Niko Irizarry worked with two others in the scheme, alleged the sheriff, who said drugs were planted in the man’s car. A Florida sheriff’s deputy was fired and arrested after an investigation that alleged he took part in an effort to frame an innocent man, authorities said. Former Lee County Sheriff’s

Florida police officer arrested on excessive force charges

A white Florida police officer with a history of excessive force is charged with aggravated battery during his arrest of a Black man accused of trespassing outside a grocery store. West Palm Beach Officer Nicholas Lordi turned himself in at the county’s main jail on Tuesday night and bonded out on Wednesday morning, officials said.