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.
WorldThe TelegraphTens of thousands flee Myanmar town after crackdown leaves 100 protesters dead
Tens of thousands have fled the central Myanmar town of Bago after the military regime brutally attacked anti-coup protesters at the weekend, leaving at least 100 dead. Residents told Radio Free Asia that many people were seeking refuge from the junta's violence in villages in the surrounding countryside. “The people fleeing their homes are residents of four neighborhoods in the city where the junta forces attacked,” said one woman who declined to give her name.
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.
- WorldReuters
Mexico arrests 30 marines over suspected forced disappearances
Mexican authorities have arrested 30 marines over their suspected involvement in forced disappearances in the northern border city of Nuevo Laredo in 2014, the Navy said in a statement late on Monday. The Navy said the attorney general's office had ordered the arrests of the 30 marines, who were being deployed in "surveillance and deterrence" operations in Nuevo Laredo at the time of the alleged crimes during the previous administration. Along with the Mexican Army, the Navy for years assumed a central role in the government's military-led crackdown on drug cartels, which was launched in late 2006.
WorldAssociated PressPope asks US bishop to resign after cover-up investigation
Pope Francis asked a bishop in the U.S. state of Minnesota to resign after he was investigated by the Vatican for allegedly interfering with past investigations into clergy sexual abuse, officials said Tuesday. The Vatican said Francis accepted the resignation of Crookston Bishop Michael Hoeppner on Tuesday and named a temporary replacement to run the diocese. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston said in a statement that the pontiff asked Hoeppner to resign following the Vatican probe, which it said arose from reports that the bishop "had at times failed to observe applicable norms when presented with allegations of sexual abuse involving clergy."
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.
WorldThe Telegraph'Freedom of speech is a dangerous job': Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai writes to staff ahead of sentencing
Hong Kong's pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has told his staff in a letter from jail that “freedom of speech is a dangerous job” and to “stand tall” just days before he is sentenced in two cases against him. It comes as fellow democracy activist Joshua Wong received a second jail sentence under the territory's strict new national security law. Mr Lai, the 72-year-old founder of Apply Daily, is in custody after prosecutors appealed successfully against a court decision to grant him bail on national security charges.
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
WorldAssociated PressBiden raises concerns with Putin about Ukraine confrontation
President Joe Biden called on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to “de-escalate tensions" following a Russian military buildup on Ukraine's border. Biden also told Putin the U.S. would “act firmly in defense of its national interests” regarding Russian cyber intrusions and election interference, according to the White House. Biden proposed a summit meeting in a third country “in the coming months” to discuss the full range of U.S.-Russia issues, the White House said.
- 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.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.
- U.S.Reuters
Cockpit voice recorder from crashed Indonesian jet downloaded successfully: investigator
The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from a crashed Sriwijaya Air jet has been downloaded successfully and includes the last minutes of the flight that ended with 62 people dead, an official at Indonesia's air accident investigator said on Monday. The contents of the recording from the 26-year old Boeing Co 737-500 that crashed shortly after take-off on Jan. 9 cannot be disclosed publicly at this stage of the probe, Indonesia National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) investigator Nurcahyo Utomo said. The channels will need to be synchronised with each other as well as radio communications and the flight data recorder (FDR) for analysis to help determine the cause of the crash.
U.S.Associated PressCourt rejects appeal of killer of 3 in home invasion
The Connecticut Supreme Court rejected the appeal of a man convicted of murder, sexual assault and other crimes in the killings of a woman and her two daughters, ages 11 and 17, in a 2007 home invasion. Justices issued a 7-0 decision Monday upholding the convictions against Joshua Komisarjevsky. Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes are serving life prison sentences for the killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley, in their Cheshire home.
WorldAssociated PressRussia says troop buildup near Ukraine is a response to NATO
Russia's defense minister said Tuesday that the country's massive military buildup in the west was part of readiness drills amid what he described as threats from NATO. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the maneuvers in western Russia that have worried neighboring Ukraine and brought warnings from NATO would last for another two weeks. Speaking at a meeting with the top military brass, Shoigu said the ongoing exercise was a response to what he claimed were continuous efforts by the United States and its NATO allies to beef up their forces near Russia's borders.
WorldReutersSweden's COVID infections among highest in Europe, with 'no sign of decrease'
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -The rate of new COVID-19 infections in Sweden has jumped to the second-highest in Europe after land-locked San Marino, data showed on Tuesday, as the Scandinavian country which has shunned lockdowns throughout the pandemic faced a third wave of cases. Sweden had 625 daily new cases per million inhabitants in a rolling seven-day average, statistics from OurWorldInData showed on Tuesday, second only to San Marino, a small nation that is surrounded by Italy.
WorldThe TelegraphGlue traps attached to trees to tackle moths are killing bats, Mammal Society warns
A rise in glue traps attached to trees to tackle invasive moths is killing bats, the head of the Mammal Society has said amid warnings of a "biodiversity emergency". Tree barrier glue is used to protect fruit trees from caterpillars which would eat the whole crop. However, environmental campaigners have argued that bats feed on these grubs, so it would be better for biodiversity and the orchards if the mammals were encouraged.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramWoman stabs boyfriend in the neck during argument in south Fort Worth, police say
A woman and her boyfriend were involved an argument in south Fort Worth early Tuesday when she stabbed him in the neck with a knife, police said. The officers determined the man and woman had gotten into an argument before the woman stabbed the man, police said. A police spokesman didn't immediately respond to a question about what charges the woman's facing, who made the 911 call or if police have any reason to believe the stabbing was accidental.
WorldAssociated Press4 killed in Pakistan in clashes between police, Islamists
Overnight clashes between Islamists and police in Pakistan left three demonstrators and a police officer dead, officials said Tuesday, hours after authorities arrested the head of an Islamist political party. The violence came as police clashed Monday and into Tuesday with supporters of Saad Rizvi, head of the Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan party, who was arrested Monday in the eastern city of Lahore. Senior police officer Ghulam Mohammad Dogar said police were still trying to bring the situation in Lahore under control Tuesday.
U.S.Associated Press'Major' announcement planned in student's 1996 disappearance
A sheriff on California's Central Coast plans to make a major announcement Tuesday in the nearly 25-year mystery of the disappearance of college student Kristin Smart. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson scheduled a news conference at 2 p.m. at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where Smart was a student, to discuss “major developments in the investigation" into her disappearance.
WorldThe TelegraphAlex Salmond 'stoking anti-English feelings with Braveheart video on breaking spines of oppressors'
Alex Salmond has been accused of pandering to extreme Scottish nationalists after his new party released a campaign video which spoke of breaking "the spine of English superiority” and he claimed the support of a King who died nearly seven centuries ago. The former First Minister's Alba Party on Monday broadcast a supposed endorsement from Robert the Bruce, who successfully led Scotland during the first War of Independence against England in the fourteenth century. In the clip, 'The Bruce', who actually died in 1329, predicts that Mr Salmond's new rival party to the SNP would “unite the clans”.
PoliticsAssociated PressBiden Republicans? Some in GOP open to president's agenda
When Trump was up for reelection last year, Copan appeared on roadside billboards across North Carolina, urging other Republicans to back Democratic rival Joe Biden. Nearly three months into the new administration, Copan considers himself a “Biden Republican,” relieved by the new president's calmer leadership style and coronavirus vaccine distribution efforts. Copan is the type of voter Biden is counting on as he pushes an agenda that's almost universally opposed by Republicans in Washington.
WorldAssociated PressPutin foe Navalny says he sues prison for withholding Quran
Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Tuesday he was suing his prison for withholding the Quran, which he intended to study while serving time in a prison outside Moscow. Navalny has been on a hunger strike for two weeks, protesting prison officials' refusal to let his physician examine him behind bars after he developed severe back and leg pain. But he said Tuesday in an Instagram post that his first lawsuit against prison officials had to do with the Muslim holy book.
- NewsYahoo News Video
Vatican same-sex ruling dismays some Catholics
Two days after he married his partner of many years, Anselm Bilgri, a former monk and prior at one of Germany's most famous monasteries, learned that the Vatican would not bless relationships like his.
U.S.Associated PressStone Mountain Park denies permit for Confederate event
The Stone Mountain Memorial Association has denied a gathering permit from the Sons of Confederate Veterans, who were looking to host their annual Confederate Memorial Day service at Stone Mountain Park outside Atlanta. The gathering was slated for Saturday but a March 31 letter from memorial association CEO Bill Stephens denied the necessary permit, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Stephens listed three reasons for the denial including safety concerns, specifically the pandemic and racial tensions.
“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.”