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| THE BIG STORY
Robert Aaron Long, 21, was arrested as the suspect in the shootings at spas in the Atlanta area that left eight people dead, including six Asian women, but police say it is too early to determine if the suspect was motivated by race.
Police said the suspect told them race was not a motive. However, the businesses he targeted are marketed as Asian or otherwise international spas advertising majority female and Asian employees.
Authorities said the suspect told officials he has sex addiction issues and targeted the spas because he wanted to “take out that temptation.” Capt. Jay Baker told reporters that the suspect has “what he considers a sex addiction, and sees these locations as something that allows him to go to these places and it's a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate.”
“He was pretty much fed up and at the end of his rope and yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did,” Baker added. It later emerged that Capt. Baker posted a racist shirt blaming China for the pandemic.
👉 Many have pointed to the hypersexualization of and racism against Asian women in the suspect’s decision to target the spas, and have criticized law enforcement’s hesitancy to call the shootings racially motivated.
What we know about the victims
So far, authorities have identified four of the eight people killed in the shootings: Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Xiaojie Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; and Paul Andre Michels, 54. Here’s what we know about them. The other four victims, all of whom are Asian women, have not been identified. Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images HELP US CELEBRATE SUNSHINE WEEK
Sunshine Week is an initiative led by the News Leaders Association, in partnership with other media and civic organizations, to promote access to information and open government.
In celebration of Sunshine Week, we’re extending our FOIA fundraising efforts! Now through March 22, every BuzzFeed News Membership sign up or one-time contribution will go towards our FOIA legal fund.
STAYING ON TOP OF THIS
According to court filings, on Jan. 6, Mark Ponder was tackled to the ground outside the Capitol by a group of Metropolitan Police Department officers after swinging a pole at them and hitting one officer in the shoulder.
But shortly after that, he was allowed to walk away because a police transport couldn’t get through to the Capitol grounds and the officers who’d arrested him were ordered back to the riot to help with crowd control, according to the filings.
In Ponder’s charging papers, an FBI agent wrote, “[D]ue to the chaotic nature of the day, the arrest was not completed on January 6, 2021.” It’s an excellent distillation of how the lack of advance planning for the events of Jan. 6 meant police were overwhelmed by the thousands of rioters. SNAPSHOTS
Two jurors in Derek Chauvin’s trial were dropped after they heard about Minneapolis’s $27 million settlement with George Floyd’s family. The judge determined that the news of the settlement had impacted their ability to be fair and impartial.
Topps has removed a card that depicted violence against BTS. The trading card manufacturer released a Grammy-themed collection, and one showed the South Korean band as whack-a-mole characters, bruised and scarred. Many pointed out that the illustration was insensitive, particularly due to increased reports of hate crimes against Asian people, and Topps removed the card.
Are you a millennial supporting people who are not your dependents? We are looking to speak with young people who have had to stretch their financial resources to take care of loved ones throughout the pandemic. If that’s you, give us a shout. THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD
White supremacists plastered the US with more physical propaganda than ever in 2020 While the coronavirus pandemic raged on and people were confined to their homes and neighborhoods, white supremacists were busier than ever, tacking racist stickers to street signs, dropping anti-immigrant banners from freeway overpasses, leaving antisemitic fliers at Jewish community centers, and spray-painting messages of hate on walls across the country.
The Anti-Defamation League reported that it recorded 5,125 incidents — more than 14 per day — of white supremacist propaganda last year, up from 2,724 in 2019. The nonprofit group said, “This is the highest number of white supremacist propaganda incidents ADL has ever recorded.”
At least 30 white supremacist groups disseminated propaganda across the US in 2020, according to the ADL report. Reverend Jes Kast, the pastor at the Faith United Church of Christ in Pennsylvania, helps paint over white supremacist graffiti left on a pride mural. Paul Weaver / Sipa USA via AP LET'S READ TOGETHER
Of Women And Salt is BuzzFeed Book Club’s pick for April
We know how much you love to read along with us. BuzzFeed Book Club’s choice for next month is Of Women And Salt, Gabriela Garcia’s poignant debut that lets readers travel through history alongside multiple generations of resilient, complicated Cuban and Cuban American women.
BuzzFeed News; Andria Lo, Flatiron Books Wishing you good coffee and a cascade of little wins, Elamin P.S. If you like this newsletter, help keep our reporting free for all. Support BuzzFeed News by becoming a member here. (Monthly memberships are available worldwide). 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here. Show privacy notice and cookie policy.
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