DEMOCRATS in the House of Representatives on Monday announced their plan for police reform, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Wikipedia photo).

A major overhaul of policing nationwide is being proposed by Democrats in Congress. Members of the House of Representatives announced a package Monday of changes intended to alter law enforcement methods and accountability in the face of the death last month of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police.

According to the Associated Press, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, said, “We cannot settle for anything less than transformative structural change.”

A period of silence – eight minutes and 46 seconds – was held by House and Senate Democrats, as they knelt in observance of the time when Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck. Chauvin has since been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He’s been held in lieu of $1 million bail.

The plan – termed the Justice in Policing Act – calls for national standards and oversight and stops short of “defunding” local police departments.

President Donald Trump tweeted, “LAW & ORDER, NOT DEFUND AND ABOLISH THE POLICE.”

Days of protest, sometimes accompanied by disorder, have followed in the wake of Floyd’s death. A video of the incident instantly went viral, and the three other officers present have also been arrested and charged with aiding and abetting in the death.

Major leagues may “play ball” after all

A proposal to play a 76-game regular season starting in early July has been advanced by Major League Baseball.

Players would get 50 percent of their prorated salaries, and 16 teams would qualify for the playoffs. It’s unclear how issues related to the coronavirus pandemic would be addressed.

Earlier plans referred to games played in stadiums without fans, but recent “re-opening” of restaurants and some stores offer hope that the traditional season might be played, albeit for only about half the usual 162-game season.

The players association has not responded to the proposal.

Coronavirus milestones are passed

The number of total confirmed cases of coronavirus and the number of global deaths from it have each passed numeric milestones in today’s (Monday) statistics from the Johns Hopkins University’s records.

According to JHU, over 7 million – 7,097,717 to be exact – cases of coronavirus have been reported worldwide. The United States remains the leader with 1,960,642 cases.

Additionally, global deaths have passed the 400,000 mark – 406,402 – with the U.S. again the leader with 110,900 deaths.

The total number is believed to be higher because some nations have stopped reporting statistics on the pandemic.

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