(CBS Local)– One of the biggest stories of 2021 has been the rise of violence against Asian Americans. Stories of hate crimes against Asian Americans are making national and local headlines after a video surfaced of an elderly man in Oakland, California getting shoved to the ground . MTV News’ Yoonj Kim has been covering this topic in depth and has used her platform to discuss many things like the destructive impact of xenophobic rhetoric around the coronavirus. She talked with CBS Local about what it has been like to witness and cover this important issue over the past few months. READ MORE: Mass. Orthodontist Accused Of Fraud Says He Won't Be 'Bullied' “It’s been simultaneously encouraging from the response we’re starting to get from the public and mainstream media outlets, but at the same time it’s truly tragic to see all of these attacks happening,” said Kim, in an interview with CBS Local’s DJ Sixsmith. “Especially the elderly, who are the most vulnerable and powerless. We have this interesting climate that is going on right now.” Kim said it felt like a punch to the gut when she first saw the video of the Asian man being attacked in Oakland. While it has been a difficult time for the Asian-American community, the MTV News host is encouraged by the younger generation and celebrities who are speaking out against these hate crimes. READ MORE: Did Dead People Vote For Joe Biden? Jon Keller Answers Your Questions “It’s been really inspiring to watch neighbors going and sitting in front of their Asian neighbors’ house to make sure they’re protected against hate crimes,” said Kim. “The police can’t be there 24/7 or they may not want to call the police. Seeing allies rallying with the Asian community has been the most amazing thing because that is really where it starts. Even though the federal government can sign all these memorandums and put out these announcements, it’s really not going to do much good if the local grassroots community isn’t ...
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6 Dr. Seuss Books Will No Longer Be Published Due To Racist Images
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — Six D r. Seuss books — including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo” — will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy said Tuesday. “These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” Dr. Seuss Enterprises said in a statement that coincided with the late author and illustrator’s birthday. READ MORE: 'Gown Giveaway': Brides Across America Extends Wedding Dress Donations To Health Care Workers “Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families,” it said. The other books affected are “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!,” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.” The decision to cease publication and sales of the books was made last year after months of discussion, the company said in the statement. “Dr. Seuss Enterprises listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics and specialists in the field as part of our review process. We then worked with a panel of experts, including educators, to review our catalog of titles,” it said. Books by Dr. Seuss — who was born Theodor Seuss Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904 —- have been translated into dozens of languages as well as in braille and are sold in more than 100 countries. He died in 1991. He remains popular, earning an estimated $33 million before taxes in 2020, up from just $9.5 million five years ago, the company said. Forbes listed him No. 2 on its highest-paid dead celebrities of 2020, behind only the late pop star Michael Jackson. As adored as Dr. Seuss is by millions around the world for the positive values in many of his works, including environmentalism and tolerance, there has been increasing criticism in recent years over the way Blacks, Asians and others are ...
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Addresses COVID-19, Jobs, Schools & Economy During State Of State
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) — Gov. Ron DeSantis formally launched the 2021 legislative session Tuesday with a State of the State address that touted the state’s actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and touched on hot-button issues that lawmakers will face over the next 60 days. DeSantis did not announce major new initiatives during the 28-minute speech but tried to contrast Florida with what he described as a “calamitous reality” in other states of closed schools and shuttered businesses. READ MORE: Stimulus Check Update: When Could Another Economic Relief Payment Arrive? Frequently interrupted by applause as he spoke in the House chamber, DeSantis said Florida had taken the right approach during the pandemic of focusing on caring for seniors, allowing businesses to reopen and making sure children could receive in-person instruction. He said the consequences of keeping students out of schools in other states will be “catastrophic and long-lasting.” “The failure of so many places outside of Florida to open schools at the beginning of the school year will go down as one of the biggest policy blunders of our time,” DeSantis said. CLICK HERE TO READ HIS ENTIRE SPEECH He also said Florida will lower flags to half-staff Wednesday to honor people who have died of COVID-19 and their family members. About 31,000 Florida residents have died since the pandemic hit the state last March. “We are saddened by the thousands of Floridians — and hundreds of thousands of Americans — who have died with COVID,” DeSantis said. “And we sympathize with the family members who in many instances were not even permitted to see their loved ones in person, either in the hospital or at a nursing home.” The State of the State address is a traditional kickoff for the annual 60-day legislative session. The pandemic will shadow numerous major policy and budget decisions this year and has revamped the way the Legislature operates — as was apparent Tuesday when senators watched the ...
Psaki won’t say why Dr. Seuss was dropped from Biden reading proclamation
close Video Jen Psaki holds White House press briefing White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki wouldn’t say why President Biden dropped Dr. Seuss from "Read Across America Day," the annual celebration of reading in honor of the legendary children’s author. While Biden followed presidential tradition in proclaiming Tuesday "Read Across America Day," which falls on March 2, Dr. Seuss’ birthday, he bucked his predecessors by leaving out any mention of Dr. Seuss from the proclamation. 6 DR. SEUSS BOOKS TO STOP BEING PUBLISHED BECAUSE OF RACIST IMAGERY When asked during the White House press briefing Tuesday why the president left out Dr. Seuss, Psaki punted to the Department of Education. "The proclamation was written by the Department of Education, and you could certainly speak to them about more specifics about the drafting of it," Psaki said. "But read Across America Day, which is, you're right, has not existed forever, has only been around for a short period of time, elevates and celebrates a love of reading among our nation's youngest leaders." 1959: Children's book author/illustrator Theodor Seuss Geisel poses with models of some of the characters he has created. (Photo by John Bryson/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images) ___________ A copy of the book "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street," by Dr. Seuss, rests in a chair, Monday, March 1, 2021, in Walpole, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) (Getty images / AP) Psaki said "the day is also a chance to celebrate diverse authors whose work and lived experience reflect the diversity of our country, and that's certainly what they what they attempted to do or hope to do this year." "And as we celebrate the love of reading uplift diverse and representative authors, it is especially important that we ensure all children can see themselves represented and celebrated, celebrated in the books that they read," Psaki said. ...
EXCLUSIVE: Obtained Internal Polling Shows Both Good And Bad News For Cruz In Texas Post-Cancun
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s internal polling shows both good and bad news for the senator in his state after flying to Cancun, Mexico, as Texas faced a deadly winter storm. The Daily Caller obtained polling results which show that with Republican voters in Texas contacted in September 2020, Cruz was 80% favorable compared to 10% of Republicans who found him unfavorable. When polled on February 21, 2020, Cruz was still favored at 80%, however, his unfavourability rose 6 points to 16%. Additionally, the polling showed that in September 2020 Cruz was 46% favorable amongst all Texas voters compared to 39% who said he was unfavorable. Since the trip, a poll conducted on February 21, 2021 showed that Cruz gained a point in favorability amongst all voters in the state, going up to 47%. However, his unfavourability went up eight points. The internal polling was done by WPA Intelligence, a provider of political intelligence for campaigns, which conducted a study of likely voters in Texas. WPA selected a random sample of registered voters from the Texas voter files using registration-based sampling. 92% of voters reported having seen, read, or heard of Cruz’s trip to Cancun compared to 8% who had not seen, read, or heard about it. “This poll shows the solid support Texans have for Cruz. Other poorly done polls show the fruits of cheap polling — absolute nonsense. Cruz is strong in Texas,” a Cruz spokesperson told the Daily Caller in response to the polling. 894 voters were contacted on February 21, 2021. 50% of the interviews were conducted via text (SMS) and 50% were conducted via Interactive Voice Response (VR). The margin of error is plus or minus 3.3 percent. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) checks in for a flight at Cancun International Airport after a backlash over his Mexican family vacation as his home state of Texas endured a Winter storm on February 18, 2021 in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. (Photo by MEGA/GC Images) According to a Morning Consult ...
