U.S.AxiosJudge rules for Black Buffalo police officer fired for stopping colleague's chokehold
A New York court on Tuesday reinstated the pension of former Buffalo police officer Cariol Horne, who was fired for intervening when a white colleague had a Black man in a chokehold during a 2006 arrest. Today the State of New York Supreme Court vacated and annulled the City of Buffalo's decision to fire her and take her benefits. Ward partially based his decision to overturn a 2010 ruling that upheld her firing on legislation signed by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown in October, known as "Cariol's Law" — which makes it a "crime for a law enforcement officer to fail to intervene when another officer is using excessive force and also protects whistleblowers," per the Buffalo News.
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.
U.S.The TelegraphProjectiles fired as protesters and police clash again over Daunte Wright shooting
Police clashed with protesters for a third night in a Minneapolis suburb rocked by the killing of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man shot by a police officer during a traffic stop on Sunday. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Brooklyn Center's police headquarters chanting "we can't take no more" and "no justice, no streets" as they called for justice for Mr Wright. The demonstrations began peacefully on Tuesday outside the police department, but as nightfall fell and a 10pm curfew approached police used pepper spray and flash bangs to disperse the crowd.
- U.S.Associated Press
Michigan woman sues official who showed rifle during meeting
A 74-year-old woman filed a federal lawsuit Monday against her Michigan county and a county commissioner who displayed a rifle during a live-streamed public meeting after she asked the elected board to reject groups such as the Proud Boys. Clous and other county board members were meeting remotely on Jan. 20 because of the coronavirus pandemic. During a public comment period, MacIntosh criticized the board chairman for allowing members of the far-right Proud Boys to speak last year in favor of declaring the county a “Second Amendment Sanctuary.”
WorldReutersChina push for global power tops U.S. security threats: intelligence report
China's push for global power is the leading threat to U.S. national security, while Russia's efforts to undermine American influence and assert itself as a major actor also pose a challenge, said a U.S. intelligence report released on Tuesday. The 2021 Annual Threat Assessment lays out U.S. spy agencies' views of the chief foreign policy issues facing U.S. President Joe Biden in his first year in office, complicated by the coronavirus pandemic and global climate change. While China and Russia are presented as the leading challenges, Iran and North Korea will also test U.S. national security, the report said.
U.S.Associated PressDriver jailed for 22 years for killing 4 Australian police
A truck driver was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Wednesday for hitting and killing four police officers on an Australian freeway. Mohinder Singh was drug-effected and sleep-deprived when his truck veered into an emergency stopping lane of Melbourne's Eastern Freeway where three policemen and a policewoman were standing after stopping a speeding car on April 22 last year. Singh, 48, pleaded guilty in the Victoria state Supreme Court last year to four counts of culpable driving causing death, three charges of drug trafficking and one of possessing illicit drugs.
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
- WorldChristian Science Monitor
Can Britain mine coal while it’s going green? It’s complicated.
Along England's northwest coast, the Haig coal mine for 70 years supplied the local economy around Whitehaven with jobs until it closed in the 1980s. Its muscular winding engine, which used to haul the coal and several thousand workers up from the depths, still towers over the site, a relic of this proud but also danger-filled past. Now, many people in the region have a surprising hope: that the phrase “bygone era” will prove premature.
PoliticsReutersAdministration proceeding with $23 billion weapon sales to UAE
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has told Congress it is proceeding with more than $23 billion in weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates, including advanced F-35 aircraft, armed drones and other equipment, congressional aides said on Tuesday. A State Department spokesperson said the administration would move forward with the proposed sales to the UAE, "even as we continue reviewing details and consulting with Emirati officials" related to the use of the weapons. The Democratic president's administration had paused the deals agreed to by former Republican President Donald Trump in order to review them.
WorldAssociated PressTurkey to host Afghan peace talks later this month
The United Nations, Turkey and Qatar announced Tuesday that a high-level conference between Afghanistan's warring sides will take place in Istanbul later this month. The meeting is aimed at accelerating peace negotiations and achieving a political settlement to decades of conflict. The three co-conveners said they are “committed to supporting a sovereign, independent and unified Afghanistan.”
U.S.Miami HeraldCops went to a Florida mom’s home on a child abuse call. Then they saw a Dr. Seuss book
Dr Seuss books have made headlines lately, but not for this reason. According to a police report from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, deputies went to a Largo home on a call of suspected child abuse. When they arrived around 9 p.m.
WorldBBCIndia Covid-19 migrants: 'Lockdown will make us beg for food again'
Over a grainy video call last week from a grotty little room in the western Indian city of Mumbai, the Sethi brothers repeatedly asked me this question, their voices trembling in nervousness. More than a decade ago, Santosh and Tunna Sethi left their families and homes in the eastern state of Orissa, also called Odisha, in search of work. Of India's more than 450 million migrants, 60 million are inter-state "labour" migrants, according to Chinmay Tumbe, the author of India Moving: A History of Migration.
PoliticsAssociated PressWhite House: First lady Jill Biden to undergo 'procedure'
The White House says President Joe Biden will accompany his wife, Jill Biden, Wednesday morning to an appointment where she will undergo a “common medical procedure. The White House says both Bidens will then return to the White House and “resume their normal schedule. Later Wednesday, the president is set to address the nation on his plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021.
WorldReutersShowdown in Berlin: conservative rivals to succeed Merkel woo lawmakers
Germany's two rivals to succeed Angela Merkel as conservative chancellor candidate in a September election went head to head on Tuesday to win the support of lawmakers, exposing deep rifts within the parliamentary bloc. The race between Armin Laschet, leader of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), and Markus Soeder, head of the Bavarian CSU sister party, has descended into a messy spat just two days after both vowed to make a quick and amicable decision. However, after the meeting of both parliamentary parties, the two men said they wanted a decision to be made this week.
WorldThe TelegraphDavid Cameron lobbying row: Civil servant allowed to join Greensill while working in Whitehall
A senior civil servant was granted permission to join the lender Greensill Capital while still working at the highest levels of government, a watchdog has revealed. Bill Crothers was head of Whitehall procurement, in control of a £15 billion annual purchasing budget, when he took on an external role as part-time adviser to the finance company's board in September 2015. Boris Johnson was understood to be personally concerned about the disclosure on Tuesday night, while Labour described it as "extraordinary and shocking", renewing demands for an MP-led inquiry into the lobbying row engulfing Greensill and David Cameron.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
Leaders of GM, Ford among objectors to voting restrictions
The leaders of three-dozen major Michigan-based companies, including General Motors and Ford, on Tuesday objected to Republican-sponsored election bills that would make it harder to vote in Michigan and other states. The GOP-led state Senate is expected to soon begin hearings on wide-ranging legislation that would require a photo ID to vote in person, prohibit the unsolicited statewide mass mailing of absentee ballot applications and restrict the hours in which people could drop their ballot in curbside boxes. Voters applying for an absentee ballot — an increasingly popular option under a 2018 constitutional amendment and during the coronavirus pandemic — would have to attach a copy of their ID.
BusinessReutersModerna says protection from its COVID-19 vaccine still strong six months on
The company has also started testing new versions of the vaccine that target a concerning new variant of the coronavirus, which was first identified in South Africa and is known as B.1.351. It said both versions of the vaccine that it is testing, including a multivalent vaccine that combines the newly designed vaccine with the previous one, increased neutralizing antibody titers against variants of concerns in mice, with the multivalent providing the broadest level of immunity. The company in March began testing three approaches to boosting the vaccine in order to protect against new variants.
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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.
PoliticsLA TimesAmid rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, Democrats move to beef up prosecution
Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill are negotiating a modest bill designed to help law enforcement combat the rise in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans, a rare moment of potential bipartisan compromise on legislation. The bill would designate one Justice Department official to expedite review of potential hate crimes against Asian Americans. It would also set up a voluntary database of hate crimes and issue guidance to help local law enforcement make it easier for people to report crimes.
ScienceBBCCommercial satellites dock high above Earth
In a delicate procedure high above the Earth, one satellite has just grabbed hold of another, older spacecraft to give it a new lease of life. The ageing platform, Intelsat 10-02, which relays TV channels and other telecoms services, is getting very low on fuel after 17 years in orbit. This is only the second time two commercial satellites have joined together in this way 36,000km above the planet.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderScandal-plagued Florida politician Joel Greenberg reportedly tried to leverage his relationship with Rep. Matt Gaetz to get a pardon from Trump
Joel Greenberg tried to use his relationship with Matt Gaetz to get a Trump pardon, Politico reported. Greenberg is facing a slew of federal charges, including sex trafficking of a minor. Gaetz is the focus of an investigation into whether he broke sex-trafficking laws and paid for sex.
WorldINSIDERMyanmar's military is charging families $85 to retrieve the bodies of relatives killed by its own forces
At least 82 were killed in a military crackdown on anti-coup protests in Bago, Myanmar, on Friday. A local group said on Facebook that the military is charging $85 to retrieve bodies of the victims. Myanmar has been embroiled in unrest since the military carried out a coup on February 1.
U.S.The IndependentCaron Nazario ‘feared for his life’ in pepper spray traffic stop
Caron Nazario's lawyer said the army officer feared for his life as he was pulled over by two Virginia police officers who aimed their guns at him and used pepper spray during a violent traffic stop. Attorney Jonathan Arthur told CNN: "He was terrified that if he was going to move his hands below where Officer Gutierrez could have seen them to undo that seatbelt, they would have murdered him." Apart from pointing their guns at him, the officers also pushed Lt Nazario to the ground and pepper sprayed him.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderBiden meets with bipartisan group on $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, saying he's open to negotiate
Biden held his first official meeting with eight bipartisan lawmakers to discuss infrastructure. Republican lawmakers argue his plan is too focused on things aside from physical infrastructure. For the first time since unveiling his $2.3 trillion infrastructure package two weeks ago, President Joe Biden met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Monday to discuss the proposal.
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Defense witness says Chauvin's actions were 'objectively reasonable'
On Tuesday in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd's death, a use-of-force expert said Chauvin was justified in restraining Floyd. Witness for the defense Barry Brodd said a "perfectly compliant" suspect would have been "resting comfortably" on the pavement during an arrest.
“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.”