Our guests are: 

Ann Hsu, Former Silicon Valley Tech Executive - President of Galileo HS PTSA - Chair SFUSD: Citizen Bond Oversight Committee - Co-organizer Asian American Task Force.

Matt Gonzalez,  Former President Board of Supervisor - 2008 Presidential Election: Ralph Nader’s VP Candidate (Green Party) - Artist - currently: SF Public Defender

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A Texas school district reportedly says it won't remove a biography about Michelle Obama following a complaint from a parent who said they felt the book unfairly portrays former President Trump as a bully.

The book — titled Michelle Obama: Political Icon by Heather E. Schwartz — is among at least 86 that Texas parents have recently attempted to have banned. 

In a statement provided to PEOPLE, Schwartz said she was "shocked that anyone would want to ban" her book, which was written for children.

"This is a nonfiction book that doesn't strike me as at all controversial," the author said, in part. "I take great pains in my work to present fact-based information and avoid any political slant."

Schwartz continued in her statement: "As an author, a reader, and a parent, I'm against book banning on principle. There couldn't be a safer way for kids to learn about difficult topics, gain

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Ron Johnson was one of three Republican U.S. senators to attend a Jan. 4, 2021, meeting convened by MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell as loyalists to then-President Donald Trump sought to gather information and rally support to delay certification of President Joe Biden's election victory.

Johnson attended the meeting virtually, while Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota, and Sen.Cynthia M. Lummis, R-Wyoming, were in a crowded conference room with others at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The Post reported: "What the senators heard from a handful of presenters were some of the most fantastical claims among those alleging that the election had been stolen — including, according to Cramer, that the 2020 vote had been influenced by foreign powers and that proper investigation required gaining access to voting machines around the country."

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An overnight raid by United States special forces in northwestern Syria led to the death of the Islamic State terror group's top leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, President Joe Biden said Thursday.

As U.S. forces closed in, Al-Qurayshi detonated a suicide bomb "in a final act of desperate cowardice," Biden said. The blast killed not only the ISIS leader, but also his wife and their two children, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

A senior deputy of al-Qurayshi and his wife were also killed after attacking U.S. forces, Kirby said, and a child was killed during the gunfight. All U.S. forces emerged safe from the raid, which Biden said was carried out under his direction.

Kirby said U.S. forces also safely evacuated ten people from the building, including eight children, and had positively identified al-Qurayshi's remains using DNA and fingerprint analysis.

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US officials alleged Thursday that Russia has been preparing to "fabricate a pretext for an invasion" of Ukraine by creating "a very graphic propaganda video" that would depict a fake attack by Ukraine against Russia.

The US' disclosure of the alleged plot is the latest in a series of revelations designed to blunt the impact of any pretext Russia may use to invade Ukraine, and comes after US officials warned that Moscow could use a false flag operation to justify such an invasion. Russia has continued building up forces and military equipment along Ukraine's borders, despite diplomatic efforts by the US and allies to de-escalate the situation.

Speaking at a Pentagon briefing Thursday, press secretary John Kirby said that the US believes the Russian government "is planning to stage a fake attack by Ukrainian military or intelligence forces against Russian sovereign territory or against Russian-speaking people" in order to create false rationale for an invasion.

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The rift stems from a police use-of-force case against Officer Terrance Stangel, who is facing criminal battery and assault charges for allegedly beating a man with a baton. The incident occurred while Stangel and other officers responded to a domestic violence report.

Last week, Stangel’s attorney argued that the case should be dismissed due to what she called “misconduct” in the DA’s handling of the case. In a pretrial hearing, DA Investigator Magen Hayashi testified that she felt she could be fired if she did not sign the affidavit against Stangel as prosecutors wished, and was instructed not to share information with police investigating the underlying domestic violence case.

Hayashi’s affidavit, containing the findings from her investigation, was presented as evidence of probable cause to charge Stangel.

The memorandum of understanding between police and prosecutors states that investigators from the two departments should be kept apprised of each others’ probes.

Also:  President Joe Biden is sending about 2,000 U.S.-based troops to Poland and Germany and shifting 1,000 soldiers from Germany to Romania as demonstrations of American commitments to allies on NATO’s eastern flank amid fears of a possible Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

In announcing the moves, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the U.S. forces will not enter Ukraine and will move to their new positions in coming days under U.S. command.

“These are not permanent moves,” he said, stressing that the purpose is to reassure allies at a time of heightened tension over Russia’s unusual buildup of military forces along Ukraine’s border. Kirby said the Russian buildup has continued, even in the last 24 hours.

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“Gun violence is a public health crisis that continues to threaten every corner of our city,” said Mayor Adams. “We pray for all the victims of violence and their families who are suffering, but we are going to do more than pray — we’re going to turn our pain into purpose. Public safety is my administration’s highest priority, which is why we will remove guns from our streets, protect our communities, and create a safe, prosperous and just city for all New Yorkers.”

Mayor Adams’ roadmap calls for both intervention and prevention to end the gun violence epidemic affecting New York, and calls on the federal government and New York state to partner with his administration and other city entities to take immediate action to reduce gun violence.

Over the longer term, Mayor Adams also plans to transform New York City and address the root causes that lead to gun violence by growing economic opportunities, improving the education of city children, providing greater access to mental health support, and more.

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Last week, the Oakland school community was shocked to learn that 19 OUSD public schools may close or be merged in the next two years. Now, we’re learning that a final vote on the action could be made as early as next week.

Dozens of teachers, students, even some administrators walked out of Westlake Middle School at noon Tuesday. They are upset with a recommendation by the school district that it close or merge about a dozen schools by June, and more schools next year, to help resolve the district's budget crisis.

"We just think this is not the right move to balance the budget. It should not be balanced on the backs of the students, the staff who work here. We've had enough of this kind of treatment. We're going to fight for it," said Westlake English teacher Sam Homrich. 

The school district says it has deficits approaching $20 million, even after making $40 million in cuts for next year.

The district also says many of its schools are under-enrolled, that it's too expensive to keep them all open.

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At last, President Biden has a chance to atone for his mistreatment of Anita Hill. Three decades after Justice Clarence Thomas’s confirmation hearings, the president could put the first African American woman on the Supreme Court. He vowed Thursday to keep his campaign promise to nominate a Black woman after Justice Stephen G. Breyer, 83, announced plans to retire when the court’s term ends this summer.Biden, 79, is an old man in a young country. Of the 115 justices to serve on the Supreme Court, 16 have been confirmed since Biden was elected to the Senate half a century ago. Assuming Democrats can confirm his nominee through a 50-50 Senate, Biden is poised to select just the third African American and sixth woman ever to serve.

The president hopes to announce his choice by the end of February. Sadly, relatively few Black women serve as federal appellate judges, which has been the traditional pipeline for justices. (Biden has nominated eight Black women to circuit courts since taking office, and five have been confirmed.) “But he does not believe that is a prerequisite,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.

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More than a dozen historically Black colleges and universities received bomb threats today, the first day of Black History Month. Howard University was among the first to issue a shelter-in-place order earlier today — just a day after the school and several other historically Black colleges and universities received similar threats. “A bomb threat against the university is being investigated," an alert from Howard University said, according to NBC Washington. "All persons on campus are advised to shelter in place until more information is available."

Brian Flores, who was fired as coach of the Miami Dolphins last month and was rejected for new jobs with other clubs, has sued the N.F.L. and its 32 teams alleging that they have discriminated against him and other Black coaches in their hiring practices.

His filing in federal court comes just days after the Giants, one of the teams he interviewed with for a position, named Brian Daboll, who is white, as their head coach.

Flores cited text messages he said were sent by his former boss, New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick. In the messages, Belichick appears to congratulate Flores for winning the Giants’ job, which he had yet to interview for at that point. Flores responded by asking if Belichick had intended the message for Daboll, who interviewed before Flores’s scheduled meeting.

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