Bill and Melinda Gates to divorce, but charitable foundation to remain intact

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Written by northsouth

Category: Americas

Published: 04 May 2021

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NEW YORK - Billionaire benefactors Bill and Melinda Gates, co-founders of one of the world's largest private charitable foundations, filed for divorce on Monday after 27 years of marriage but pledged to continue their philanthropic work together.

  The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has become one of the most powerful and influential forces in global public health, spending more than £36 billion over the past two decades to bring a business approach to combating poverty and disease.

  The Gates have backed widely praised programs in malaria and polio eradication, child nutrition and vaccines. The foundation last year committed some £1.25 billion to Covid-19 relief.

  In a joint petition for dissolution of marriage, the couple asserted their legal union was "irretrievably broken," but said they had reached agreement on how to divide their marital assets. No details of that accord were disclosed in the filing in King County Superior Court in Seattle.

  Bill Gates, 65, who co-founded Microsoft Corp, and his spouse, Melinda French Gates, 56, met after she joined the software giant as a product manager, and they dated for a few years before marrying in January 1994 in Hawaii.

  "After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," the two said in a joint statement posted on each of their individual Twitter accounts.

  "We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life," they said.

  The divorce petition, which states that the couple have no minor children, comes after the youngest of their three offspring recently turned 18.

  Launched in 2000, the non-profit Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ranks as the largest private philanthropic foundation in the United States and one of the world's biggest, with net assets of $43.3 billion at the end of 2019, according to the latest full-year financials shown on its website.

  From 1994 through 2018, the couple gifted more than $36 billion to the Seattle-based foundation, the website said.

  Last year, investor Warren Buffett reported donating more than $2 billion of stock from his Berkshire Hathaway Inc to the Gates Foundation as part of previously announced plans to give away his entire fortune before his death.

'NO CHANGES TO THEIR ROLES'

  In their divorce petition, the couple asks the court "to dissolve our marriage" and to divide their communal property, business interests and liabilities "as set forth in our separation contract," though that accord was not made public.

  Bill Gates is ranked No. 4 on the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest individuals, with an estimated $124 billion fortune.

  In a separate statement, the Gates Foundation said the couple would remain as co-chairs and trustees of the organization.

  "They will continue to work together to shape and approve foundation strategies, advocate for the foundation’s issues, and set the organization’s overall direction," the foundation's statement said.

  The split comes two years after another leading Seattle-based billionaire and philanthropist, Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos, said that he and his then-wife, MacKenzie, were getting divorced.

  At least one critic of billionaire benefactors cited the Gates' split as a cautionary tale in the wisdom of concentrating so much sway over global humanitarian issues under the control of super-wealthy individuals.

  "The Gates divorce will do more than upend a family's life. It will ramify into the worlds of business, education, public health, civil society, philanthropy, and beyond," Anand Giridharadas, author of the book "Winners Take All" told Reuters.

  "That is because our society has made the colossal error of allowing wealth to purchase the chance to make quasi-governmental decisions as a private citizen," he said.

  Gates dropped out of Harvard University to start Microsoft with school chum Paul Allen in 1975. Gates owned 49% of Microsoft at its initial public offering in 1986, which made him an instant multimillionaire. With Microsoft's explosive growth, he soon became one of the world's wealthiest individuals.

  After an executive tenure in which he helped transform the company into one of the world's leading technology firms, Gates stepped down as CEO of Microsoft in 2000 to focus on philanthropy. He remained chairman until 2014 and left the company's board in March 2020.

  Known in the technology industry as an acerbic and ruthless competitor, Gates drew the ire of rivals and eventually the US government for Microsoft's business practices.

  The software giant was convicted of antitrust violations in the late 1990s. But the verdict was overturned on appeal, and the company then settled the case out of court.

  Gates' public persona softened into an avuncular elder statesman as he turned his attention to philanthropy, and he has largely steered clear of the many controversies currently roiling the technology business.

  Melinda French Gates, who recently added her maiden name on most of her websites and social media, was raised in Dallas and studied computer science and economics at Duke University before joining Microsoft.

  In 2015 she founded Pivotal Ventures, an investment company focused on women and families, and in 2019 published a book, The Moment of Lift, centred on female empowerment.

Biden’s first 100 days: Where he stands on key promises

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Written by northsouth

Category: Americas

Published: 26 April 2021

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By ALEXANDRA JAFFE, AAMER MADHANI AND KEVIN VINEYS

WASHINGTON (AP) — As he rounds out his first 100 days in office, President Joe Biden’s focus on reining in the coronavirus during the early months of his administration seems to have paid off: He can check off nearly all his campaign promises centered on the pandemic.

Biden has delivered on a number of his biggest campaign pledges focused on climate change and the economy as well. But some issues have proved to be tougher for the administration — including immigration, where Biden is grappling with how to enact promised reforms in the face of a steep increase in unaccompanied minors seeking to cross the border. On some of his promises, Biden is waiting for Congress to act.

Where Biden stands on some of his key promises:

IMMIGRATION

— Raise refugee cap to 125,000, up from the 15,000 set by President Donald Trump.

Nowhere close. The White House first said it would stick to Trump’s 15,000 cap due to “humanitarian concerns.” After facing backlash from Democrats, it shifted gears and said Biden would increase the historically low cap on refugees set by Trump — but probably not all the way to the 62,500 that Biden previously had planned. And the numbers actually admitted this year are likely to be closer to 15,000.

— Surge humanitarian resources to the border and encourage public-private partnerships to deal with an increase in migration there.

Yes, but is it enough? The Department of Homeland Security has deployed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help deal with the major increase of border arrivals, and Biden signed an executive order asking officials to prepare plans for using humanitarian resources there. He has yet to establish any new public-private partnerships. The largest number of unaccompanied children ever at the border created massive overcrowding at Customs and Border Protection facilities and set off a mad scramble for temporary space at convention centers, military bases and other large venues.

— Reform the U.S. asylum system.

Incomplete. Biden signed an executive order in February directing his officials to craft a strategy for migration, including refugees and asylum seekers. Biden has promised to unveil a new “humane” asylum system but he and his aides have been mum on timing and offered no specifics. He’s eliminated some Trump-era policies, like a requirement that new asylum seekers wait in Mexico. But he has kept a Trump-era policy that allows Customs and Border Protection to expel migrants who enter the country without authorization to avoid the spread of COVID-19. And Biden has yet to articulate a plan to manage asylum flows beyond proposing that billions of dollars be spent to address root causes in Central America.

— Deliver a comprehensive immigration reform bill to Congress within his first 100 days.

Done.

— End travel restrictions on people from a number of Muslim-majority countries.

Done.

— Reverse Trump-era order expanding criteria for deporting immigrants and return to Obama-era principle of prioritizing deportations of immigrants posing a national security, border security or public health risk.

Done.

— Stop funding and building the border wall.

Done.

— Reverse Trump’s public charge rule discouraging immigrants from using public benefits.

Done.

— Restore the Obama-era principle of deporting foreigners who are seen as posing a national security threat or who have committed crimes in addition to the crime of illegal entry.

Done.

— Freeze deportations for 100 days.

Attempted, but blocked in court.

— Streamline and improve the naturalization process for green card holders.

In progress. Biden signed an executive order in February ordering a plan to improve the naturalization process, and the Department of Homeland Security has since revoked some Trump-era rules, sought public input into naturalization barriers and reverted to a 2008 version of the U.S. civics test for applicants, considered more accessible than the Trump-era revamp.

— End family separation and create task force to reunite families separated at the border.

In progress. Biden signed executive orders ending the policy and establishing a task force focused on reuniting families. The task force is making slow progress as it pores over thousands of records.

— Order a review of Temporary Protected Status.

No review has been ordered, but Biden’s Department of Homeland Security has granted TPS for Venezuelans and Burmese, extended it for Syrians and extended a related program for Liberians.

— Convene a regional meeting of leaders, including officials from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Canada, to address the factors driving migration and propose a regional resettlement solution.

Not yet. Vice President Kamala Harris, tasked with dealing with the root causes of migration, has spoken to the leaders of Mexico and Guatemala, but no regional meeting is on the horizon.

— Protect those often described as “Dreamers” — young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents — and their families by reinstating DACA, the Obama-era policy defending them from deportation.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in March his agency was issuing a rule to “preserve and fortify DACA,” but the policy faces a Texas court challenge that could invalidate protections for those often described as “dreamers.”

— Ensure that personnel within Immigration and Customs Enforcement and within Customs and Border Protection abide by professional standards and are held accountable for inhumane treatment.

Biden included funding for training and investigating misconduct in his immigration bill and in the budget he proposed to Congress. His administration has faced questions about allegations of abuse in at least one Texas facility, which are being investigated.

— End prolonged migrant detention and invest in a case-management system to process people.

There’s been no announcement of added investments in case-management systems. The administration did roll out plans to release parents and children within 72 hours of their arrival in the United States in March. Officials subsequently acknowledged that hundreds of children have been held by Border Patrol for much longer, due to an increase in unaccompanied minors arriving at the border and a lack of facilities to house them.

DOMESTIC POLICY

— Reverse transgender military ban.

Done.

— Establish police oversight board.

Abandoned. The Biden administration said it was scrapping the idea, after consultations with civil rights groups and police unions that said it would be counterproductive.

— Direct attorney general to deliver a list of recommendations for restructuring the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other Justice Department agencies to better enforce gun laws.

Not yet.

— Direct FBI to issue report on delays in background checks for gun purchases.

Not yet.

— Reauthorize Violence Against Women Act

Requires congressional action.

— Sign Equality Act

Requires congressional action.

— Create Cabinet-level working group focused on promoting union organizing tasked with delivering a plan to increase union density and address economic inequality.

Not yet.

___

COVID-19

— Rejoin World Health Organization.

Done.

— Ensure 100 million vaccines have been administered before the end of his first 100 days, later increased to 200 million.

Done.

— Increase access to testing and establish pandemic testing board.

Done.

— Issue mask mandate on federal property and ask Americans to wear masks for 100 days.

Done.

— Extend nationwide restrictions on home evictions and foreclosures.

Done.

— Continue to pause student loan payments.

Done.

— Safely reopen a majority of K-8 schools.

According to data collected by Burbio, a school-tracking site, as of April 18 62% of schools offered in-person learning every day. It’s unclear what percentage of those schools are elementary schools.

— Push for passage of $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief legislative package.

Done; the bill passed in March.

CLIMATE

— Rescind Keystone XL oil pipeline permit, protect the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, rejoin the Paris climate agreement and embrace the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to reduce harmful hydrofluorocarbons, or HFC’s.

Done.

— Convene climate world summit and persuade nations to set more ambitious emissions pledges.

Done.

— Ban new oil and gas leases on federal lands and offshore waters.

Sort of — he’s imposed an indefinite moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters.

— Reverse Trump rollbacks on 100 public health and environmental rules.

In progress. Biden signed an executive order on Inauguration Day ordering a review of Trump-era rules on the environment, public health and science, and has begun the process of rolling back some.

ECONOMY

— Roll back Trump’s 2017 cuts to corporate tax rates.

In progress. Biden has proposed raising the corporate tax rate to 28% from the 21% rate set by Trump’s 2017 overhaul of the tax code.

— Provide $2,000 in direct payments as part of COVID-19 relief.

Done. The aid package approved right before Biden became president offered $600 in direct payments to eligible Americans. Biden said the payment should have been $2,000. His $1.9 trillion relief package included $1,400 in additional direct payments, which with the prior round adds up to $2,000.

— Pause federal student debt payments.

Done.

— Order a review of U.S. supply chains.

Done.

FOREIGN POLICY

— “End the forever wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East” and terminate U.S. involvement in the Yemen civil war.

In progress. Biden announced that the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan would begin by May 1 and the redeployment would be done no later than Sept. 11. Biden announced he was ending American support for the five-year Saudi Arabia-led military offensive in Yemen.

— Put human rights at the center of foreign policy.

Mixed. Biden has directly raised concerns with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Hong Kong, human rights abuses against Uyghur and ethnic minorities in the western Xinjiang province, and its actions toward Taiwan. He’s repeatedly raised concerns about the jailing and treatment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. But Biden declined to hold Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, directly responsible for the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi even after the publication of U.S. intelligence showing Salman approved of the hit.

— Improving relations with allies who had rocky relations with Trump.

Mostly accomplished. Allies like Canada’s Justin Trudeau and Germany’s Angela Merkel, who had stormy relationships with Trump, have praised Biden for his efforts reclaim U.S. leadership on climate issues, and leaders in the Indo-Pacific have been pleased by early efforts at coordination on China policy.

— Reversing the embrace of “dictators and tyrants like Putin and Kim Jong Un.”

Mostly accomplished. Biden has levied two rounds of sanctions against the Russians. His administration decided to be measured in its approach with Putin and has said that he’s interested in finding areas where the U.S. and Russia can find common ground. Biden’s team acknowledges they have sought to reengage with North Korea, but have been rebuffed.

— Quickly rejoin the nuclear deal with Iran so long as Tehran comes back into compliance.

Mixed. Indirect talks are under way among other signatories of the 2015 deal, including British, German, French, Chinese and Russian officials, with American officials down the hall. But the path forward is less than certain as Tehran has thus far refused to come into compliance with the old deal without sanctions relief and it recently began enriching uranium to its highest purity ever.

— Recognize World War I-era atrocities against Armenians as genocide.

Completed. As a candidate, Biden said, if elected, he’d make it U.S. policy to recognize the killings and mass deportations by Ottoman Empire forces of hundreds of thousands of Armenians more than a century ago — something past presidents have avoided doing out of concern of angering strategic ally Turkey. Biden followed through on the promise on the annual commemoration Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Turkey swiftly condemned the move.

Minneapolis ex-policeman Derek Chauvin convicted

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Written by northsouth

Category: Americas

Published: 21 April 2021

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Former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder on Tuesday in the arrest of George Floyd, a milestone in the fraught racial history of the United States and a rebuke of law enforcement's treatment of Black Americans.

The 12-member jury found Chauvin, 45, guilty of all charges including second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter after considering three weeks of testimony from 45 witnesses, including bystanders, police officials and medical experts. Deliberations began on Monday and lasted just over 10 hours.

In a confrontation captured on video, Chauvin, who is white, pushed his knee into the neck of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in handcuffs, for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020, as he and three fellow officers arrested Floyd, who was accused of using a fake $20 bill to buy cigarettes at a grocery store.

Chauvin, wearing a gray suit with a blue tie and white shirt as well as a light-blue pandemic-related face mask, nodded and stood quickly when the judge ruled that his bail was revoked after the verdict was read.

He was taken out of the courtroom in handcuffs and placed in the custody of the Hennepin County Sheriff.

Outside the courthouse, a crowd of several hundred people erupted in cheers when the verdict was announced. Cars honked and chants of "George Floyd" and "All three counts" broke out.

Chris Dixon, a 41-year old Black Minneapolis resident, had tears rolling down his face.

"I was hoping that we would get justice and it looks like we did,” he said. "I’m just very proud of where I live right now."

At George Floyd square in Minneapolis, the intersection where Floyd was killed and is now named after him, people screamed, applauded and some threw dollar bills in the air in celebration. The site has since become a rallying point for racial justice protests.

"Justice for Black America is justice for all of America," the Floyd family's attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement. "This case is a turning point in American history for accountability of law enforcement and sends a clear message we hope is heard clearly in every city and every state."

Chauvin had pleaded not guilty to the charges of second-degree unintentional murder involving "intentional infliction of bodily harm," third-degree unintentional "depraved mind" murder involving an "act eminently dangerous to others," and second-degree manslaughter involving a death caused by "culpable negligence."

While the U.S. criminal justice system and juries have long given leeway and some legal protection to police officers who use violence to subdue civilians, the jurors in this case found that Chauvin had crossed the line and used excessive force.

Under Minnesota sentencing guidelines, Chauvin faces 12-1/2 years in prison for his murder conviction as a first-time criminal offender. Prosecutors could, however, seek a longer sentence up to the maximum of 40 years if Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill, who presided over the trial, determines that there were "aggravating factors."

In Minnesota, convicted criminals generally leave prison on supervised release after completing two thirds of their sentence. Chauvin had no previous criminal convictions.

The jury included four white women, two white men, three Black men, one Black woman and two multiracial women, according to court records.

Earlier on Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said he had spoken by phone with members of Floyd's family.

"They're a good family, and they're calling for peace and tranquility, no matter what that verdict is. I'm praying the verdict is the right verdict, which is - I think it's overwhelming in my view. I wouldn't say that unless the jury was sequestered now, (would) not hear me say that," Biden told reporters at the White House.

The intersection of race and law enforcement has long been contentious in the United States, underscored by a series of deadly incidents involving white police officers and Black people in a number of American cities in recent years.

Floyd's death prompted protests against racism and police brutality in many cities in the United States and around the world last year.

The Minneapolis Police Department fired Chauvin and three other officers the day after Floyd's arrest. The three others are due to face trial later this year on aiding-and-abetting charges in Floyd's death.

MEDICAL EXPERTS

A cardiologist, a pulmonologist, a toxicologist and a forensic pathologist were medical experts called by prosecutors to testify that videos and autopsy results confirmed that Chauvin killed Floyd by compressing his body into the street in a way that starved him of oxygen.

The defense argued that Chauvin behaved as any "reasonable police officer" would have under these circumstances, and sought to raise doubts about the cause of Floyd's death, saying heart disease or even the exhaust fumes from the nearby police car may have been factors.

Darnella Frazier, a teenager who told the jury she was taking her 9-year-old cousin to the Cup Foods grocery store that evening to get snacks, was among the witnesses called by prosecutors after jurors began hearing testimony on March 29.

Frazier had used her cellphone to make a video depicting Floyd's excruciating ordeal, images that catalyzed the subsequent protests. Floyd can be heard on the video crying out for his mother and telling officers he could not breathe. Eventually Chauvin lifted his knee to allow paramedics to place Floyd's limp body onto a stretcher.

Other eyewitnesses described the horror and lingering trauma of watching Floyd die in front of them. Courteney Ross, Floyd's girlfriend of nearly three years, recalled their first kiss and their shared struggle with opioid addiction.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo appeared as a prosecution witness to testify that Chauvin's actions during the arrest represented an egregious breach of his training.

Throughout the trial, Chauvin wore a suit and took notes on yellow legal pads while sitting alongside defense attorney Eric Nelson. Members of Floyd's family took turns attending the trial, though some tried to avert their gaze when video of Floyd's death, recorded from multiple angles, was replayed to jurors.

The judge ordered the jurors to be sequestered after they began deliberations.