Today is International Women’s Day as well as the “Day Without a Woman” strike, and in honor of that, we’re making today’s RantCrush all about women. Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

A Day Without A Woman

Since today is International Women’s Day, many women are planning a strike. There will be demonstrations and rallies across the country, and the organizers behind the Women’s March are calling on women everywhere to take the day off from work, avoid shopping for a day, and wear red. This is to recognize “the enormous value that women of all backgrounds add to our socio-economic system–while receiving lower wages and experiencing greater inequities, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment, and job insecurity,” a statement on the group’s website says.

A Day Without a Woman is tmrw! To join:

1) Take the day off
2) Avoid shopping – unless at women & minority-owned businesses
3) Wear RED pic.twitter.com/nqzLd7RwJ2

— AJ+ (@ajplus) March 7, 2017

Several schools are closed for the day since many teachers are planning to stay at home and women make up 76 percent of America’s public school teachers. The average American woman currently makes 79 cents for every dollar a man makes, but minority women make even less. Women make up 47 percent of the U.S. workforce, which means if every woman stayed home from work today, it would cost the country almost $21 billion, according to the Center for American Progress. That’s something to think about!

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: March 8, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Protests After Off-Duty Cop Fires Gun During Altercation with Teens

On Tuesday, an off-duty LAPD officer seems to have lost it in an altercation with some kids who walked on his lawn in Anaheim, California. A video that went viral on social media yesterday shows a group of young teenagers outside a house and the cop pulling the limbs of a 13-year-old boy. When the boy’s friends start pulling him in the other direction, the cop fired his gun. No one was injured, but photos surfaced of the boy with bruises on his neck.

JUST IN: Hundreds protest in Anaheim after an off-duty LAPD cop grabbed a teenager and fired his weapon during a scuffle on his lawn. pic.twitter.com/ry6W56fkh1

— Fusion (@Fusion) February 23, 2017

The boy, Christian Dorscht, allegedly stood up for a 13-year-old girl after the officer started shouting profanities at her for walking on the lawn. According to Dorscht’s father, the boy said he was going to “sue” the cop, which the cop allegedly misheard as “shoot,” and decided to arrest him. The incident ended with Dorscht being charged with criminal threats and battery while the cop walked free. Hundreds took to the streets of Anaheim to protest and the ACLU of Southern California said it is deeply disturbed by the video and demanded a full explanation. The LAPD will conduct an internal investigation of the unnamed officer.

Keep in mind this all started cuz an off-duty cop was ready to shoot children over walking in his yard. https://t.co/Efm3d4bssc

— X (@XLNB) February 23, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: February 23, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

New Allegations Against Clarence Thomas Surface

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been accused of sexual assault by Moira Smith, an Alaskan lawyer. Smith claimed that when she was 23–in 1999–Thomas groped her at a dinner party when she was working in DC. Thomas was already a Supreme Court justice at that point. Smith posted about the allegations on Facebook, and was then interviewed by The National Law Journal. In an interview she explained her motivations for coming forward, saying:

We now know that many men in power take advantage of vulnerable women. That willingness by men in power to take advantage of vulnerable women relies on an unspoken pact that the women will not speak up about it. Why? Because they are vulnerable. Because they are star-struck. Because they don’t want to be whiners. Because they worry about their career if they do speak out. But silence no longer feels defensible; it feels complicit.

Clarence Thomas–who was also accused of sexual harassment by Anita Hill during his Senate confirmation in 1991–denies the allegations by Smith.

Anita Hill discusses Moira Smith’s accusation that Justice Thomas groped her in 1999 https://t.co/D2DpakjdIV via @TheNLJ @ZoeTillman pic.twitter.com/5q29qpBpBo

— Beth Frerking (@BethFrerking) October 27, 2016

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The post RantCrush Top 5: October 28, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.