• A Tennessee sheriff has presented the Johnny Cash Museum proof that the late musician who famously cultivated an image as an outlaw was in fact granted law enforcement authority decades ago. This week, Sheriff Daron Hall gave the Nashville museum a blown-up image of Cash's September 1979 deputy commission card. It was issued by then-Davidson County Sheriff Fate Thomas and features Cash's head shot, fingerprint and signature. Hall said his photographer found a photo of the card, which has been talked about for years. It's unclear where the original card is. The card authorized Cash to "... Arrest any and all persons violating the Criminal laws of the State of Tennessee." Hall said he doesn't have evidence of what the deputy work entailed, but Cash believed in efforts to change prisons and criminal justice.
• The European Union on Thursday awarded its top human-rights prize to economist Ilham Tohti for his work defending China's Uighur minority, and urged Beijing to release him from jail. A moderate though outspoken Uighur critic of Beijing's policies in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, Tohti was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014. Despite being known as a moderate who argued against Uighur separatism, he was convicted of fanning ethnic hatred, advocating violence and instigating terror through his classroom teaching and a website on Uighur issues. In awarding the Sakharov Prize, the European Parliament described Tohti as a "voice of moderation and reconciliation." "By awarding this prize, we strongly urge the Chinese government to release Tohti and we call for the respect of minority rights in China," said David Sassoli, the legislature's president. More than 1 million Uighurs have been detained in camps since 2017 and criticism has grown over China's internment of them and other Muslims. China's government insists the detention sites are "vocational" centers aimed at training and skills development. The EU award, named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, was created in 1988 to honor individuals or groups who defend human rights and fundamental freedoms.
• Rapper Chuck D is this year's winner of the Woody Guthrie Prize, an award that recognizes artists who speak out for the less fortunate. Chuck D was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 as part of the groundbreaking hip-hop group Public Enemy. Woody Guthrie Center Director Deana McCloud noted that Guthrie was "a fighter for the people." She said that Chuck's D's work has aligned with that message to "choose a side, fight the power, and work for a better world." Chuck D is the sixth recipient of the prize named for the Oklahoma native.
A Section on 10/25/2019