** Whistleblower contradicts park police on violent clearing of Lafayette Square
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Friday, September 18, 2020
Lafayette Square, near the White House, was the site of protests against the murder of George Floyd | T ([link removed]) ed Eytan, Flickr ([link removed])
Back in June, federal forces violently cleared protesters ([link removed]) from Lafayette Square shortly before a Trump administration photo op in the same location near the White House. The federal forces included the Park Police, a unit of the National Park Service under the Interior Department. Law enforcement and military officers have been under investigation since the event in which they deployed tear gas, stun grenades, and physical force ([link removed]) .
A new account ([link removed]) from the senior-most D.C. National Guard officer on the ground, who served as a liaison to the U.S. Park Police, contradicts Park Police and Trump administration claims that protesters were violent, that tear gas was never used, and that demonstrators were given ample warning to disperse ([link removed]) .
The officer, who provided his account as a whistleblower, also revealed that hours before law enforcement cleared protestors, they began to stockpile ammunition ([link removed]) and seek a device that could emit deafening sounds (a Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD), as well as a 'heat ray' device ([link removed]) that could make anyone within range feel as if their skin was on fire. However, neither device was acquired.
The U.S. Park Police Chief has testified that protestors were given warnings to disperse via an LRAD—but the new account reveals that no such device was present ([link removed]) . The 'heat ray' crowd control technology that officials attempted to acquire has been deemed too unpredictable for use in war zones ([link removed]) , and was shelved in the early 2000s amid concerns about its effectiveness, safety, and ethics of its use on humans.
Quick hits
** Opinion: Just call them climate fires
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New York Times ([link removed])
** The world has hit a climate tipping point as the age of megafires begins
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Environment 360 ([link removed]) | National Geographic ([link removed])
** Smoke is getting people down across the West, closes Yosemite. Is it time for a new era of air quality warnings?
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Colorado Public R ([link removed]) adio ([link removed]) | Montana Public Radio ([link removed]) | NBC ([link removed]) | CNN ([link removed]) | Bay Area News Group ([link removed])
** BLM mum as extremist continues to send cattle to market after unpaid grazing fees, trespass fines
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E&E News ([link removed])
** Opinion: Our land was taken. But we still hold the knowledge of how to stop mega-fires
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Guardian ([link removed])
** Colorado moves toward air quality, setback regulations for oil and gas development to protect public health
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Denver Post ([link removed]) | Colorado Newsline ([link removed])
** The story of wells abandoned by the oil and gas industry, left to leak methane
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E&E News ([link removed])
** How popular federal protections for western Colorado public lands are inching closer to reality
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Colorado Newsline ([link removed])
Quote of the day
There were 461 health complaints between Nov. 4th of last year and July 21st of this year [in Broomfield]. They clustered on the same days, which tells you a lot. It means there were specific days when something was happening and causing people to have negative impacts.”
—Susan Speece, a scientist who has helped collect air-quality samples near oil and gas well sites, Denver Post ([link removed])
Picture this
** @I ([link removed]) nterior ([link removed])
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#HispanicHeritageMonth ([link removed]) is celebrated from September 15 through October 15 & pays tribute to the culture & traditions of these dynamic people. Many historic sites across the country help tell their story: [link removed] ([link removed])
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