U.S.ReutersChauvin's lawyers call officer in previous arrest to the stand as first witness
Lawyers for Derek Chauvin on Tuesday began presenting their case in the former Minneapolis policeman's murder trial, calling to the stand a now-retired officer who pulled over a car in which Floyd was a passenger in 2019 - a year before his deadly encounter with Chauvin. Chauvin's lead attorney, Eric Nelson, argued in court filings that the earlier arrest supported his defense that a drug overdose may have caused Floyd's death in May 2020, not a lack of oxygen caused by Chauvin kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes, as prosecutors charge. Nelson showed the jury a video taken by a body-worn camera during the May 6, 2019, traffic stop in which Floyd became distressed as the officer, Scott Creighton, pointed a gun at him and ordered him out of a car.
WorldAssociated PressAnalysis: Iran's powerful Guard faces scrutiny after attacks
The recent sabotage at Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility is just the latest setback for the country's Revolutionary Guard, though the paramilitary force is rarely publicly criticized due to its power. Its forces failed to stop both an earlier attack at Iran's Natanz facility and the assassination of a top scientist who started a military nuclear program decades earlier. In the wake of the attack, Iran announced Tuesday it would begin enriching uranium at 60% purity, the highest level its program has ever reached.
PoliticsThe WeekBiden gets positive GOP reviews after infrastructure meeting, a hard no on corporate tax hike
President Biden hosted a bipartisan group of eight lawmakers in the White House on Monday evening to discuss his $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan, and Republican attendees said afterward the president seemed genuinely interested in their input. "I'm prepared to negotiate as to the extent of my infrastructure project, as well as how we pay for it," Biden said in the two-hour Oval Office meeting. "Everyone acknowledges we need a significant increase in infrastructure."
WorldArchitectural DigestThe World’s 9 Most Expensive Home Listings Currently on the Market
These fantastical houses range from a 64,000-acre Texas ranch to an oceanside estate in the south of France Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.AxiosObama: Daunte Wright shooting shows "just how badly we need to reimagine policing"
Former President Barack Obama on Tuesday stressed that the U.S. needs to "reimagine policing and public safety" after Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by a Minneapolis officer this weekend. The big picture: Following nationwide protests in the wake of George Floyd's death last year, local police reforms were proposed on a scale not seen since the inception of the Black Lives Matter movement. In Minnesota on Monday, a second night of protests over the police shooting of Daunte Wright unfolded in Brooklyn Center, as a large crowd defied a curfew and pleas from city leaders to go home.
U.S.Associated PressNTSB: Pilot error likely caused vintage bomber's fatal crash
The pilot, Ernest “Mac” McCauley, reported a problem with one of the engines shortly after takeoff, and the plane crashed into a maintenance building and burst into flames during a landing attempt. The NTSB said the flight data indicated that the landing gear was extended too early, adding drag that slowed the plane, and it was traveling too slow on its return to the airport. The B-17 could likely have overflown the approach lights and landed on the runway had the pilot kept the landing gear retracted and accelerated to 120 mph until it was evident the airplane would reach the runway,” the NTSB said.
U.S.NBC NewsVenomous viper bites worker at San Diego Zoo
A venomous snake bit an employee at the San Diego Zoo on Monday, officials said. The incident occurred while a wildlife care specialist was caring for an African bush viper in a non-public area, according to the zoo, NBC San Diego reported. “Although the San Diego Zoo cares for a number of venomous reptiles, incidents like this are very rare, and the snake was contained at all times with no risk of an escape,” the zoo said in a statement.
WorldReutersCzech foreign minister sacked after losing challenge to party leader
PRAGUE (Reuters) -Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek, who frequently warned against risks posed by Russia and China, was sacked on Monday after losing a bid to lead his own centre-left Social Democratic party (CSSD) party last week. His replacement may take a less resolute stance on China and possibly on other issues such as Russia and its "vaccine diplomacy" or its bid in a Czech nuclear power plant tender. President Milos Zeman, who favours close ties with Russia and China and often clashed with Petricek, dismissed him after receiving a proposal to do so from Prime Minister Andrej Babis.
WorldDefense NewsUS Army building up force in Europe with two new units
The U.S. Army is sending two new units to Europe — a Multidomain Task Force and a Theater Fires Command — in a much anticipated move The two formations, making up about 500 soldiers, will arrive “in the coming months,” according to a statement from U.S. Army Europe and Africa released April 13. This will bring 750 family members to U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden in Germany. The MDTF unit is set up to activate on Sept.
WorldAxiosIran to enrich uranium to 60% in response to apparent Israeli attack
Iran has informed the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it will begin 60% uranium enrichment, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters as he arrived to Vienna on Tuesday for a second round of nuclear talks. Why it matters: This will be Iran's most severe violation of the 2015 nuclear deal since the Trump administration withdrew from the agreement in 2018. The announcement comes in response to the explosion at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, for which Iran blames Israel.
CelebrityThe TelegraphCrumbling former home of Queen and Prince Philip in Malta undergoes multi-million pound restoration
The garden is overgrown, the walls are collapsing and the stonework is crumbling, but a dilapidated townhouse in Malta where a young Prince Philip once lived with the then Princess Elizabeth is undergoing a multi-million pound restoration. Villa Guardamangia, on the outskirts of the Maltese capital Valletta, is to be returned to how it looked when it was home to the royal couple in what they said was one of the happiest periods of their lives. The restoration, expected to take at least five years, will enable it to be opened as a museum and underscores the connection between the royal family and Malta, which gained independence in 1964.
WorldBBCTaiwan: 'Record number' of China jets enter air zone
Taiwan has said a record number of Chinese military jets flew into its air defence zone on Monday. The defence ministry said 25 aircraft including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers entered its so-called air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Monday. The incursion is the largest in a year and comes as the US warns against an "increasingly aggressive China".
- WorldYahoo News Video
Brooklyn Center, Minn., police release footage of Daunte Wright shooting, chief says he believes officer mistakenly grabbed gun instead of Taser
During a press conference on Monday, Brooklyn Center, Minn. released bodycam video of the police shooting of Daunte Wright. Police Chief Tim Gannon said he believes the officer who shot Wright intended to use her Taser, but mistakenly grabbed her firearm.
U.S.INSIDERBlack Army officer pepper-sprayed by police said he thought he could be murdered as officers gave quickly changing commands
A uniformed Black Army officer was held at gunpoint and pepper-sprayed during a traffic stop. Second lieutenant Caron Nazario filed a lawsuit against the 2 Virginia officers involved. In a complaint, Nazario said they gave conflicting orders and he was worried he would be murdered.
TechnologyCBS NewsSoftware fix planned for Mars helicopter
The long-awaited maiden flight of an experimental $80 million mini helicopter carried to Mars by the Perseverance rover is on hold while engineers test software to resolve a glitch that cropped up Friday during a pre-flight test, NASA announced Monday. If all goes well, the team hopes to determine a new flight date next week. Engineers initially expected to clear the Ingenuity helicopter for launch Sunday on a 30-second up-and-down flight to verify the 4-pound drone can, in fact, autonomously lift off, hover and land in the ultra-thin atmosphere of Mars.
WorldThe Independent‘Unlike anything we’ve seen in modern history’: Attacks against journalists soar during Black Lives Matter protests
At least 50 journalists in the US have been arrested during Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the US, while dozens of others have also been injured by rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas. The US Press Freedom Tracker has collected nearly 500 incidents from 382 reports, from the unrest in Minneapolis in the wake of George Floyd's killing by police in late May, to demonstrations in more than 70 cities across 35 states since. At least 46 journalists were arrested between the end of May and the beginning of June, according to data collected by the organisation.
U.S.INSIDERMinnesota mayor says police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright should be fired and face 'full accountability'
Daunte Wright, 20, was fatally shot by a police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on Sunday. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott says the officer who shot Wright should be fired. Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, Mayor Mike Elliott says the police officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright on Sunday should be fired and face "full accountability" in the shooting.
HealthNational ReviewAnthony Fauci Has Worn Out His Welcome
More than a year ago, Americans welcomed Anthony Fauci into their homes as a sober scientist who was helping them make sense of a deadly new virus. It's true that Fauci has enjoyed an illustrious career, advising every president since Ronald Reagan and winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008. As he's maintained a media schedule worthy of a serious presidential candidate or an actor in a new major studio release, Fauci has gradually stopped standing apart from the contentious debate about the pandemic, lockdowns, restrictions, precautions, and what is safe and what is risky.
HealthKansas City StarWhite House says supply of other COVID vaccines is enough as new J&J guidance weighed
The Biden administration is working with states to reschedule appointments for individuals who were in line to receive shots of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in the coming days, after federal agencies recommended a pause in usage over safety concerns. Jeff Zients, coordinator of the White House coronavirus response team, said in a statement that the federal supply of other vaccines – produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna – was enough to continue vaccinating the country at a pace of 3 million shots per day. “We are working now with our state and federal partners to get anyone scheduled for a J&J vaccine quickly rescheduled for a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine,” Zients said.
WorldThe Daily BeastTop Kremlin Mouthpiece Warns of ‘Inevitable’ War With U.S. Over Another Ukraine Land Grab
All-out cyberwarfare, nation-wide forced blackouts, and the targeted disruption of internet services—for one of the Kremlin's top propagandists, all of those tactics are fair game in what she describes as a fated war-to-come against the U.S. “War [with the U.S.] is inevitable,” declared Margarita Simonyan, editor in chief of the state-funded Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik, who believes the conflict will break out when, not if, Vladimir Putin moves to seize more territory from Ukraine. As Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's doorstep mounts, Kremlin loyalists have been urging for even more overt aggression and bloodshed in the campaign to annex Ukraine's Donbas region.
U.S.Charlotte ObserverBillionaire gives $18 million to Charlotte YMCA. Here’s how the money will be spent.
The YMCA of Greater Charlotte has decided how it will spend the largest single donation in the nearly 150-year-old nonprofit's history – $18 million. Billionaire philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott made a public announcement in December on her blog, naming the Charlotte Y as one of 384 organizations receiving a piece of more than $4.1 billion. Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, called the coronavirus pandemic “a wrecking ball in the lives of Americans already struggling.”
U.S.INSIDERThe judge in the Chauvin trial won't admit statements from Morries Hall, the passenger in George Floyd's car
Morries Hall has invoked his 5th Amendment right not to testify in Derek Chauvin's trial. The judge ruled against admitting statements Hall previously made to investigators at trial. The judge will rule Tuesday on whether Hall will be ordered to testify with limitations.
EntertainmentArchitectural Digest14 Ways to Do Memphis Without Doing Memphis
You don't have to commit to full-on maximalism to make a statement Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.USA TODAY13 investigations, no court-martials: Here's how the US Navy and Marine Corps quietly discharged white supremacists
For decades, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have quietly kicked out some of the worst white supremacists in their ranks, offering them administrative discharges that leave no public record of their hateful activity, a USA TODAY review of Navy documents found. The documents, obtained via a public-records request by the open-government advocacy group American Oversight, detail 13 major investigations into white supremacist activity in the Navy and Marine Corps over more than 20 years. They show a pattern in which military leaders chose to deal with personnel involved in extremism by dismissing them in ways that would not attract public attention.
U.S.The Daily BeastPaul Flores Taken Into Custody in Connection With Kristin Smart Case: Report
Nearly 25 years after Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart vanished following a frat party, a California man previously named as a primary suspect in her disappearance has reportedly been taken into custody. Paul Flores, who walked Smart home and was the last person to see her alive in 1996, was arrested on Tuesday in San Pedro, California, according to KSBY News. Flores' father, Ruben Flores, was also reportedly taken into custody in connection with the case, and authorities are serving another search warrant at Ruben's Arroyo Grande home. The reported arrest comes just one month after the sheriff's office identified Flores as “the prime suspect” in Smart's case, which has attracted national attention for decades.
“There’s no ‘both sides of the debate’ when it comes to active voter suppression.”
“Companies that do this ooze contempt for their own customers and employees who are not in the leftmost quarter of opinion.”
“The truth is that Fortune 500 companies were never taking moral stances from the goodness of their corporate hearts.”
“The truth is, the companies hold the cards…If companies stick to their guns, Georgia is likely to back down as well.”
“When a company folds to the unfounded outrage of a few misinformed nuts, they are forever at the mob’s beck-and-call.”