The transition to in-person classes will be managed in phases, with the first transition to start July 1, the university said. It plans be fully operational for in-person instruction by Sept. 1, assuming the “large majority” of employees and students are vaccinated.
“Our next chapter will focus on the needs of our community, utilizing innovative solutions to create a UCI experience that is more satisfying, productive and supportive,” Chancellor Howard Gillman said in a press release.
He continued, “During the coming days and months, continuing through the summer in preparation for fall, we will be releasing more information about our next steps. Some of the plans build on our pandemic experiences, such as a hybrid workplace and flexible coursework, while others may be completely new. The common thread is that our new day will be designed collectively for our campus community and our stakeholders.”
Despite vaccinations, facial coverings and social distancing will be required on the campus, though the university said the campus will be notified when these protocols are amended.
Students, faculty, and staff who are unvaccinated or those involved in athletics and other groups must undergo asymptomatic testing in the fall.
The majority of teaching will take place in-person, though UCI will assist faculty members when their students are unable to be on-campus for a variety of reasons. All general classrooms will be outfitted with technology to support all instructional methods.
“Many of us have enjoyed the benefits of remote work and collaboration, while others long for greater in-person interaction,” Gillman said. “We plan to provide the opportunities for freedom to have both—virtual and physical, remote and local, digital and analog—blended in a way that advances excellence.”
The university’s newly-named provost and executive vice chancellor, Hal S. Stern, said he looks forward to bringing the campus back to near-full engagement.
“As employees and students begin transitioning back to the campus, the well-being and success of the UCI community is the top priority, and we intend to offer our students, faculty and staff a healthy and supportive environment that encourages their best work,” Stern said in a press release.
Stern was serving as interim provost and vice chancellor since March 2020, before he was permanently appointed to the position April 16.
The new position makes him UCI’s chief academic and operating officer, where he will assume responsibility for the university’s teaching and research enterprise. This includes 14 different schools, more than 4,000 faculty members, and 224 degree programs, according to UCI.
Stern has been with UCI since 2002 and founded the Department of Statistics.
“I’m honored to have been chosen to remain provost and executive vice chancellor at one of the country’s top public research universities,” Stern said. “As the campus and society emerge from the many challenges of the past year, we will continue on our ambitious path to reach new heights of excellence and social impact.”
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey issued a Declaration of Emergency (pdf) and announced he’s deploying the Arizona National Guard to the state’s southern border to assist law enforcement dealing with the growing amount of illegal crossings.
“The situation in our border communities is just as bad—if not worse—than the coverage we’ve been seeing,” Ducey, a Republican, said on Tuesday.
“It’s become evidently clear that Arizona needs the National Guard, and the White House is aware of that. Yet, to this day, there has been no action from this administration, and it doesn’t look like they are going to act any time soon. If this administration isn’t going to do anything, then we will.”
More than 172,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended in March along the Southwest border, a 71 percent increase over February, according to a Customs and Border Protection operational update earlier this month. In March, 18,890 unaccompanied minors from Central America apprehended, a 100 percent increase over February, the agency said.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey speaks at a MAGA campaign rally in Prescott, Ariz., on Oct. 19, 2020. (Caitlin O’Hara/Getty Images)
Up to 250 National Guardsmen will go to the state’s border communities to support law enforcement agencies with medical operations in detention centers, the governor’s office said in a news release. Up to $25 million in state funding will go to the mission.
The Guardsman will also help with the installation and maintenance of border cameras, collect data from them, as well as from satellite imagery, to looking for current smuggling trends.
“This drastic surge is a direct result of the bad policy coming out of Washington, DC. And yet, we still haven’t received an adequate response from the Biden administration. It’s clear that they have no plan. They can’t even agree on whether this is a crisis or not,” Ducey said, referring to the increase in illegal border crossings.
“One day, the President himself says it is the next day others in the administration take it back. I said last month that the Biden administration is totally divorced from reality. Now at times, it seems like they fully understand the reality, and they’re putting their heads in the sand and trying to ignore it anyway.”
About a month ago, the mayor of an Arizona town said he will declare a state of emergency over the border crisis.
Gila Bend Mayor Chris Riggs told Fox News he is placing the blame on the Biden administration for transporting illegal immigrants on buses to his town, noting that, particularly due to the ongoing CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, they don’t have the necessary resources to handle the influx.
“Border Patrol let us know that they were going to be dropping migrants that had been detained for 72 hours in our town, which we really didn’t understand because we have nothing here,” Riggs told Fox. “We have no charity organizations that can help, no non-governmental organizations that a lot of the larger cities and towns do have to assist these people.”
He said the town, which is near the U.S.-Mexico border, hasn’t received any federal or state assistance and that illegal immigrants being dropped off in his town can’t get food, lodging, or COVID-19 testing.
Q: Pebbles, my 9-year-old terrier, was diagnosed with diabetes several months ago. I give her insulin injections and monitor her diabetes with urine test strips. Is there a better way to determine how well her diabetes is being controlled?
A: Diabetes mellitus arises most often in middle-aged dogs, usually around 7 to 9 years of age. Three-fourths of diabetic dogs are female.
Clinical signs include increased drinking and urination, increased appetite with decreased weight, and lethargy. Some diabetic dogs also develop cataracts and urinary tract infections.
While humans can experience different kinds of diabetes, dogs almost always have insulin-dependent diabetes, similar to type 1 diabetes in humans. In both forms, the pancreas does not produce insulin as it should.
Insulin has many roles, one of which is to move blood sugar, or glucose, into the cells of the body, where it produces energy the tissues and organs require to function normally.
When insulin can’t drive glucose into the cells, the glucose levels in the blood increase and glucose is excreted in the urine.
For a number of reasons, however, urine testing does not provide a valid representation of diabetic control. So, you must test the glucose in Pebbles’ blood or tissues.
There are several ways to do this. The most common method is to test a drop of her blood at home using a pet glucose meter, such as the AlphaTrak or VetMate. These meters are more accurate in pets than human glucose meters.
It may seem challenging, but my clients easily learn the technique and are pleased they can check their pets’ blood sugars on a routine basis and whenever they’re concerned the pet doesn’t seem quite right.
Alternatively, your veterinarian can check Pebbles’ blood glucose levels at the animal hospital periodically throughout the day.
An even easier method is to monitor Pebbles’ glucose levels in her tissues with a sensor called the FreeStyle Libre that is attached to her skin. The sensor, which is replaced every two weeks, reports glucose levels wirelessly to a scanner or your smartphone.
Finally, testing fructosamine or hemoglobin A1c levels in the blood reflects average blood glucose over a period of time. However, these tests can’t identify the glucose highs and lows, so they don’t replace actual blood glucose measurements.
Regardless of how you monitor Pebbles’ blood sugar levels, you’ll also need to pay close attention to her clinical signs to be sure her diabetes is well controlled.
Q: We put fresh water out for our cats daily, but they prefer to drink from the toilet. Why?
A: I’m shuddering as I picture any cat drinking from the toilet. Please keep your toilet lid down to prevent this risky behavior.
Drinking toilet water can poison your cats if you use cleaners, scents, or other chemicals in your toilet. It also can spread disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and parasites from you to your cats, even after you flush.
Cats are drawn to toilets because the porcelain keeps the water cool, and frequent flushing freshens the water. Similarly, in the wild, cats are drawn to drink from a stream’s cool, flowing water, which is likely healthier than stagnant pond water.
You can provide cool, fresh, well-aerated water by placing several porcelain or ceramic water bowls throughout your home. Cats don’t like their whiskers to touch the side, so be sure the bowls are wide. Occasionally drop a few ice cubes into them.
Scrub them daily with soap, because simply rinsing and refilling them doesn’t actually clean them.
Consider a pet fountain. My cats love theirs, because the water bubbles up and flows like a waterfall into a pool. The porcelain fountain has two filters, but it still needs to be scrubbed weekly.
One of my cats jumps onto the bathroom counter to drink from the sink whenever I’m there. For high-tech kitties, consider a touch- or motion-activated bathroom faucet. To keep food preparation areas sanitary, don’t let your cats jump onto kitchen counters to drink from the kitchen sink.
Lee Pickett, VMD, practices companion animal medicine in North Carolina. Contact her atAskTheVet.pet. Copyright 2021 Lee Pickett, VMD. Distributed byCreators.com
In the wake of the Derek Chauvin verdict, Black Lives Matter activists on Twitter are now calling for hunting down and killing George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman who was acquitted of murdering Trayvon Martin in 2013.
Apparently they don’t remember what happened last time someone tried to attack Zimmerman. Trayvon Martin was killed.
On Tuesday, Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted of all three charges brought against him: one count of second-degree murder, one count of third-degree murder, and one count of second-degree manslaughter for the death of George Floyd. Ocasio-Cortez argued that the convictions did not amount to justice.
"This verdict is not justice," she said in a Tuesday Instagram Live video. "Frankly, I don't even think we call it full accountability because there are multiple officers that were there. It wasn't just Derek Chauvin. And I also don't want this moment to be framed as this system working because it's not working, and that's what creates a lot of complexity in this moment."
The New York representative argued the only way that justice would have been carried out was if the incident hadn't taken place to begin with.
"Justice is George Floyd going home tonight to be with his family," the congresswoman added. "Justice is Adam Toledo getting tucked in by his mom tonight."
AOC tells her supporters the Chauvin verdict is not enough
“This is not justice... frankly, I don’t even think we call it full accountability” pic.twitter.com/BOlhWtDjGU
Ocasio-Cortez's remarks were similar to those of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who was the lead prosecutor in the case.
"That long, hard, painstaking work has culminated today," Ellison said on Tuesday. "I will not call today’s verdict justice, however, because justice implies true restoration. But it is accountability, which is the first step towards justice, and now the cause of justice is in your hands. And when I say your hands, I mean the hands of the people of the United States."
Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died last May after being arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin was taped placing his knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe. Floyd's death led to months of demonstrations last summer, with many protesting racial inequality and police brutality.
Chauvin, a 45-year-old white man, could now face up to 40 years in prison. The judge announced that his sentencing trial would take place in eight weeks.
President Joe Biden urged the public to ignore agitators seeking to exploit the conviction of a former police officer for the murder of George Floyd as he called on the country to unite in confronting systemic racism.
A jury in Minneapolis found Derek Chauvin, 45, guilty on Tuesday of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter after hearing from 45 witnesses in a trial that lasted three weeks. He faces up to 40 years in prison.
Biden said the murder, captured on video, had “ripped the blinders” off for the whole world to see America’s “systemic racism,” which he described as a “stain on our nation's soul.”
“Nothing can ever bring their brother, their father back,” he said of Floyd's family. “But this can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America.”
“A legacy of peace, not violence; of justice, peaceful expression of that legacy are inevitable and appropriate but violent protest is not," he said in a White House address.
"And are those who will seek to exploit the raw emotions of the moment, agitators and extremists who have no interest in social justice, who seek to carry out violence, destroy property, and fan the flames of hate and division ... do everything in their power to stop this country's march toward racial justice," he said.
“We can't let them succeed," he said.
The video of Floyd’s death, pinned beneath Chauvin’s knee for more than nine minutes, horrified the world. It kicked off a long summer of violent protests across the nation as police clashed with protesters in city after city.
The jury’s verdict was read in a city on edge. The courthouse was protected with concrete barriers and razor wire, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had already declared a state of emergency.
All around the country, cities were preparing for outpourings of anger.
Biden had been due to deliver remarks on his jobs agenda on Tuesday afternoon. Instead, officials said he and the vice president watched television in his private dining room as the jury delivered its verdict.
President Biden and VP Harris call the Floyd family after the GUILTY verdict! Thank you @POTUS & @VP for your support! We hope that we can count on you for the police reform we NEED in America! ✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/cg4V2D5tlI
“Nothing is going to make it all better, but at least there is now some justice," he told him, as well as promising action on police reform.
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke before Biden, urging the Senate to pass the George Floyd Act to hold law enforcement agencies accountable.
“This work is long overdue,” she said. “America has a long history of systemic racism. Black Americans and black men in particular have been treated throughout the course of our history as less than human.”
Hours ahead of the verdict, and while the jury was deliberating, Biden took the unusual step of weighing in on the case. He generated immediate controversy by saying he was praying for the "right verdict."
"They're a good family, and they're calling for peace and tranquility no matter what that verdict is," he said. "I'm praying the verdict is the right verdict."
“I think it's overwhelming, in my view. I wouldn't say that unless the jury was sequestered now," he said.
Yet a day earlier, the judge overseeing the case had asked politicians to respect the independence of the courts.
"I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that's disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch and our function," said Judge Peter Cahill.
Benjamin Jackson III, 10, walks past a mural depicting George Floyd in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, June 9, 2020. There were no fires this time in Watts. There was no looting, no shooting and no National Guard troops patrolling the streets. When protesters around the country began demanding racial justice over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, there may have been mentions of Watts and faint echoes of the riots that broke out in the Los Angeles neighborhood 55 years ago. But they didn't happen there. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jae C. Hong/AP
Floyd died last May when Chauvin used his knee to pin him by the neck to the ground.
Onlookers pleaded in vain for the white officer to release the 46-year-old black man.
A video of the murder sparked a long, hot summer of protest in America and around the world.
Prosecutors used expert witnesses to build a case that Chauvin caused Floyd’s death when he knelt on the black man's neck for more than nine minutes, even after his victim became unresponsive. Their most powerful evidence came from video captured by onlookers who pleaded with the officer to ease up.
"Use your common sense. Believe your eyes," said prosecutor Steve Schleicher. "What you saw, you saw."
The defense argued that the officer acted reasonably and that Floyd died from the effects of illegal drug use and a heart condition.
Protesters outside the courtroom reacted to the Derek Chauvin verdict with angry anti-police rhetoric and violence Tuesday after the former Minneapolis police officer was convicted on all counts.
Floyd’s girlfriend at the time of his death, Courteney Ross, was present outside the courtroom and was seen praying with several protesters after the guilty verdict.
Tensions have been high in Minneapolis in the days leading up to the verdict, with many expecting that protesters would riot if Chauvin was not convicted of murder.
Chauvin will be sentenced in eight weeks and faces a maximum of 75 years in prison.
Renowned defense attorney and Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz said Tuesday that the conviction of former Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd should be overturned on appeal because of the public intimidation of the jury and the judge's refusal to sequester the jury.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reacted to the conviction of former Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd on Tuesday with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) by thanking Floyd for "sacrificing" his life for justice.
Canadian National offered $325 for each Kansas City Southern share, including $200 in cash and 1.059 Canadian National shares. The company said the offer represents a 21% premium to
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.
CP -2.81%
’s agreement to pay $275 a share, including $90 in cash, a roughly $25 billion deal reached last month.
The move sets up a tussle for a key strategic asset poised to benefit from an expected surge in economic activity as the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic. Either combination would create the first freight-rail network linking the U.S., Mexico and Canada by connecting ports in the three countries.
Kansas City Southern, the smallest of the five major freight railroads in the U.S., plays a big role in U.S.-Mexico trade, with a network stretching across both countries. Its trains bring autos and other industrial products up from factories south of the border into Texas and the Midwest and haul U.S. farm goods back to Mexico. It also runs a rail link along the Panama Canal.
Canadian National anticipates the combination it is proposing would generate incremental cash flow—in the form of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization—of about $1 billion, mainly from increased revenue from offering lower-cost alternatives to trucking routes. The company said it is better positioned than Canadian Pacific given a larger footprint and limited route overlap with Kansas City Southern. It also owns a route that bypasses Chicago congestion, which can save days of travel time.
Canadian Pacific had said it expects its combination would meaningfully reduce truck traffic on U.S. highways and produce annual synergies of about $780 million over three years.
Canadian National has a network spanning Canada that stretches down past Chicago to New Orleans after the acquisition of other, smaller U.S. operators including Elgin Joliet and Eastern Railway Co., Wisconsin Central Ltd. and Illinois Central Corp. As a result, it could have a tougher time winning regulatory approval than Canadian Pacific, which has major rail lines running across Canada, some northern U.S. states and south to Chicago. That might help explain why Canadian National felt compelled to offer so much more.
There is no guarantee either deal would pass regulatory muster.
A transaction would need approval from the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, which requires major railroad combinations to be in the public interest and enhance competition. Kansas City Southern said Tuesday it would review Canadian National’s proposal and respond in due course.
Canadian Pacific said in a statement that Canadian National’s proposal, which would create the third largest major railway, would increase regulatory risk for Kansas City shareholders and decrease benefits for customers.
Should Kansas City Southern deem Canadian National’s bid superior, Canadian Pacific would have a chance to match it or walk away with a $700 million breakup fee, as stipulated by the current merger agreement. Kansas City Southern investors cheered the news, first reported Tuesday morning by The Wall Street Journal, sending the shares up more than 15%. Canadian National stock was off 6%, while Canadian Pacific was down 2.2%.
Kansas City Southern had a market value of about $24 billion as of Monday’s close. Canadian National’s was about $84 billion and Canadian Pacific’s, $50 billion. Canadian National is roughly 14%-owned by Cascade Investment LLC,
Bill Gates’s
investment firm, according to FactSet.
If successful, Canadian National plans to use the same two-step process for the deal that Canadian Pacific previously outlined.
Under the arrangement, the buyer would create a trust to acquire Kansas City Southern shares, with the company continuing to be run by its board and management until the STB review is completed. If the regulator rejects the merger, the trust would divest itself of the shares under a plan to be approved by the regulator. Both companies would have U.S. headquarters for a combined company in Kansas City, Mo.
Kansas City Southern has been seen as one of the last big acquisition targets in the railroad sector after
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners
LP and Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC agreed to take Genesee & Wyoming Inc. private for $8.4 billion including debt in 2019. Before striking the deal with Canadian Pacific on March 21, Kansas City Southern had rejected takeover interest from buyout firms
Blackstone Group Inc.
and Global Infrastructure Partners, the Journal reported last year.
Merger-and-acquisition activity is up significantly in 2021 compared with last year’s slow start and has featured a healthy helping of bidding wars, not to mention special-purpose-acquisition-company deals.
Typically a rare phenomenon, bidding wars are popping up more frequently, partly because of sky-high valuations that leave a limited number of attractive acquisition targets, and low interest rates that make financing cheap and abundant. Laser maker
Coherent Inc.
was the subject of a frenzied three-way bidding contest that ended in a nearly $7 billion deal last month.
More recently, a deal by hedge fund Alden Global Capital LLC to buy
Tribune Publishing Co.
was later topped by a proposed bid from a hotel magnate and a billionaire partner aiming to prevent deep cuts at the Chicago Tribune publisher. The effort has since been thrown into question after the partner providing the bulk of the funding backed out.
Europe’s health agency said a warning should be added to the product information of the
Johnson & Johnson
Covid-19 vaccine that unusual blood clots are a very rare possible side effect, but said the benefits of taking the shot outweigh the risks, even as the number of clotting cases rose slightly.
In the U.S., the number of cases of blood-clot disorders linked to the vaccine has increased to nine, up from the six initially reported, according to a senior U.S. health official. The European Medicines Agency said on Tuesday that it had looked at data from the U.S. in making its assessment.
The nine U.S. cases, including one death, are being investigated, the official said. Use of the J&J vaccine has been temporarily suspended on the recommendation of the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The instances of clots overall is still very small given that about seven million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the U.S.
Last week, U.S. health authorities recommended pausing the rollout out of the J&J vaccine. They had considered only issuing a warning, but decided a pause would help make doctors aware of how to treat the rare condition. J&J then followed with the decision to pre-emptively pause the rollout in Europe, which had just begun.
An advisory committee to the CDC is scheduled to meet Friday to advise the U.S. about the next course of action. Federal authorities have been considering a possible age restriction—the U.S. cases were all in people 48 years old or younger—or adding cautionary language to doctors who use the vaccine.
Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, on Sunday predicted the pause would end as soon as Friday, perhaps with additional restrictions or warnings.
The cases in the U.S. were similar to those that have occurred with the
AstraZeneca
PLC vaccine in Europe, something that the EMA said it took into consideration in making its recommendation. The two vaccines use similar technology.
The J&J Vaccine
“We have already done a very detailed review of the risks and cases with the AstraZeneca vaccine, which gave us the experience to come to a conclusion in the context of the [J&J] vaccine,” EMA Executive Director
Emer Cooke
said at a briefing on Tuesday.
The EMA worked closely with the FDA while carrying out the review and has commissioned more research to look into the blood clotting issue, Ms. Cooke said.
Europe’s slowly accelerating vaccine campaign should get a boost from the conclusion of the J&J review. Before the company halted deliveries, the EU expected to receive 55 million doses of the vaccine in the quarter through June, accounting for roughly 13% of 410 million expected doses in the period. But since the J&J vaccine requires only one shot—not two, like all other available Covid-19 vaccines—the deliveries could account for almost 25% of vaccinations.
In the U.K., where 20.6 million people had received at least one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine by April 5, there has been about one case of unusual clotting with low platelets for every 200,000 shots given. There have been 22 deaths out of 99 cases. Overall in Europe, there have been 287 cases up to April 13, the EMA said. The agency didn’t say how many of those resulted in deaths.
Most cases and deaths have been in women under 60 years old, prompting many countries to restrict the use of the vaccine to older recipients.
The U.S. official noted that more cases could still arise. The cases so far involved blood clots in a major vein draining the brain, while the patients had sharp drops in their blood platelets and, in some cases, bleeding.
Because some of the patients got the wrong treatment—the blood-thinner heparin—U. S. authorities issued a pause on the use of the J&J vaccine.
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The EMA warned healthcare providers and people who have received the AstraZeneca or J&J vaccines to be on the lookout for symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, leg swelling, persistent abdominal pain and skin bruising beyond the area of the injection. There can also be neurological symptoms such as severe and persistent headaches and blurred vision.
“Early intervention by a specialist can change the outcome,” Ms. Cooke said.
The AstraZeneca vaccine, like the J&J one, is known as an adenovirus-vector vaccine, in which a virus causing the common cold is altered to cause human cells to grow spikes similar to those of the spike protein on coronavirus cells. The changes in a vaccine recipient’s cells cause an immune response to the coronavirus cells that protects a large percentage of recipients against the virus.
The AstraZeneca vaccine hasn’t been authorized for use in the U.S.
The EMA’s finding leaves in the hands of EU governments decisions on whether to use the J&J vaccine and about any restrictions. J&J said after the EMA announcement that it would resume European deliveries.
Despite the controversy around the vaccine, J&J said the product contributed $100 million to the company’s sales growth in the latest quarter, though the outlook for future sales is uncertain. It is unclear whether publicity around the blood-clot risk will hurt demand for the vaccine.
“We’re cautiously hopeful that there is a very viable path forward,” Chief Financial Officer
Joseph Wolk
said on a conference call with analysts. J&J said it remains committed to supply 100 million vaccine doses for U.S. use under a contract with the federal government.
Procter & Gamble Co.
PG 0.83%
this fall will start charging more for household staples from diapers to tampons, the latest and biggest consumer-products company to announce price increases.
The maker of Gillette razors and Tide detergent cited rising costs for raw materials, such as resin and pulp, and higher expenses to transport goods.
“This is one of the bigger increases in commodity costs that we’ve seen over the period of time that I’ve been involved with this, which is a fairly long period of time,” said P&> Operating Chief
Jon Moeller,
a 33-year company veteran.
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Mr. Moeller said P&> aims to improve and add features to products, as the company increases prices so that consumers feel they are getting more. The price increases, to take effect in September, will be on baby products, adult diapers and feminine-care brands and will be in the mid- to high-single-digit percentage points, the company said.
Global supply chains, already struggling due to the Covid-19 pandemic, have seen additional disruptions. The February freeze that triggered mass blackouts in Texas led to chemical-plant shutdowns and caused a shortage in raw materials that in turn sent prices for polyethylene, polypropylene and other chemical compounds to their highest levels in years.
Kimberly-Clark, maker of Huggies diapers and Scott paper products, said its percentage increases would be in the mid- to high-single digits and take effect in late June. They will apply to the company’s baby- and child-care, adult-care and Scott bathroom tissue businesses.
Several food makers have raised prices as well.
Hormel Foods Corp.
said in February that it raised prices on its turkey products, such as Jennie-O ground turkey, in response to higher grain costs.
J.M. Smucker Co.
said it recently raised prices for its Jif peanut butter and that it might do the same with pet snacks because of higher shipping costs and other inflationary pressure.
The Labor Department said last week that its consumer-price index—which measures what consumers pay for everyday items, including groceries, clothing, recreational activities and vehicles—jumped 2.6% in the year ended March, the biggest 12-month increase since August 2018.
P&> announced the price increase as it disclosed financial results for the quarter ended March 31. The company said organic sales—a measure that strips out deals and currency moves—grew 4% in the quarter ended March 31, with the biggest gains in the company’s beauty and fabric and home-care units.
The results mark P&>’s slowest overall organic sales increase since 2018, following a year in which the pandemic created high demand for products such as cleaning supplies, paper towels and toilet paper.
“It’s a different situation as everywhere in the world countries are in very different places as far as coming out of the pandemic,” Mr. Moeller said. “There is very strong consumption across the board.”
While sales are cooling for some products, Mr. Moeller said, demand is recovering for others, such as beauty products and supplies sold directly to businesses that are reopening after widespread shutdowns.
During the quarter, P&>’s net sales rose 5% to $18.1 billion. Volume was flat for the first time in years, while price and mix both increased 2%.
P&> posted net income of $3.27 billion, or $1.26 a share, up from $2.92 billion, or $1.12 a share, a year earlier. Analysts expected net income of $3.09 billion.
The company maintained its forecast of organic sales growth of 5% to 6% for the fiscal year that ends June 30.
To help protect against the coronavirus, the CDC recommends cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces daily. Bryan Warcholek, who leads the Covid-19 team for biohazard clean-up company Aftermath Services, shows how it’s done. Photo: Adam Falk/The Wall Street Journal
Celebrities flooded social media on Tuesday as they reacted to the news of Derek Chauvin being found guilty on all three charges of murder and manslaughter in death of George Floyd.
Whoopi Goldberg, Kerry Washington, Chris Evans and Mariah Carey were just some of the stars who were first to share their thoughts on Twitter, seconds after the jury in Minneapolis returned its verdict following just 10 and a half hours of deliberation.
Scandal actress Washington, 44, tweeted: 'A guilty #verdict. But this fight for justice is not over. We have a lot of work to do. There is more fight ahead of us. But RIGHT NOW please take CARE of yourself. And let's take care of each other. Prayers and love to the family of #GeorgeFloyd.'
The View host Goldberg, 65, told her followers: 'Guilty Guilty Guilty... No one wins.. George Floyd is still gone.. and finally someone was responsible... Derek Chauvin.' Goldberg's Republican co-host Meghan McCain simply tweeted: 'May justice heal our nation.'
Stars react: Whoopi Goldberg, Kerry Washington and more stars react as Derek Chauvin is found guilty on ALL three charges of murder and manslaughter in death of George Floyd
Reaction: Actors Zendaya (left) and Viola Davis (right) took to Instagram to share images of the late George Floyd in response to Tuesday's verdict
Chauvin, 45, has been found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, and now faces 75 years in prison.
As the verdict was read out Chauvin looked on silently in the Hennepin County courtroom where jurors spent three weeks listening to testimony about the day Floyd died under the weight of the 45-year-old cop's knee during an arrest on May 25, 2020.
Cheers rose from the crowds that had gathered outside the courthouse and down at the intersection of 38th and Chicago now known as George Floyd Square.
Thankful: Oprah Winfrey took to Instagram with an older picture of Floyd donning a tuxedo, expressing her relief after the verdict was read
Emotional: Grammy winner Lizzo took to her Instagram account as she held back tears saying she had 'nothing to say but everything to feel'
Following celebrity reactions, Barack Obama tweeted: 'Today, a jury did the right thing. But true justice requires much more. Michelle and I send our prayers to the Floyd family, and we stand with all those who are committed to guaranteeing every American the full measure of justice that George and so many others have been denied.'
Oprah Winfrey took to Instagram with an older picture of Floyd donning a tuxedo, expressing her relief after the verdict was read.
'Relieved - and emotional in ways I didn’t expect,' she said. 'I cried tears of joy as each verdict was read. I'm grateful to the witnesses and their testimonies. Grateful to every Juror for seeing and acknowledging what the world saw on that tape. Thank you God for real!'
Meanwhile, Oscar-winner Viola Davis lead reactions on Instagram who posted a painting of Floyd with the caption: 'GUILTY!!!! As it should!! Now....rest in peace George Floyd. Rest. You and your family have been vindicated.'
In an emotional video posted to Instagram, Grammy winner Lizzo spoke directly to her 10.2million followers, while holding back her tears.
Response: Stars including Ellen DeGeneres, Mariah Carey and Ciara tweeted just seconds after the verdict was read out
Activism: Scandal star Kerry Washington also shared this call to action on her Instagram page as well as reacting on Twitter. Amy Schumer posted the same infographic
She captioned the post: 'Thank you to all the organizations dedicated to the protest and protection of black people. Twin cities you have been through so much. Nothing to say here but I love you. Rest in power George Floyd.'
Kerry Washington also took to her Instagram page to share a graphic that read 'We have a verdict. Now what?' which contained a call to action for her followers, urging them to help pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Mariah Carey also shared the same graphic, adding to her Instagram Stories: 'Thank you because we need this. Sending love and prayers to the Floyd family. This is a day that will never be forgotten.. Believing something good will come out of this tragedy.. it's a start. Praise the Lord!'
Speaking out: Sharon Stone (left) and Megan Thee Stallion (right) shared their reactions to the verdict on Instagram
Big moment: Kelly Rowland shared a shot of her TV screen as she watched CNN coverage of the trial, writing, 'And justice is served!'
Reaction: Model Gigi Hadid posted a pair of exclamation points in reaction to news of the verdict
Not mincing words: Bethenny Frankel posted a shot of the word 'Guilty'
Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx posted his reaction to the verdict, which he called a 'bittersweet moment' in a response on Instagram.
'I am happy and relieved that the person that did this horrendous thing to you and your family was found guilty,' Foxx began his post. 'The bitter is that we cannot bring you back… The bitter is all of the lives that were affected by what happened to you… all the tears that have been shed... and hearts broken...'
He continued: 'But through prayer and faithful people… Today with the announcement of this Verdict gives us some type of hope... hope that we can start righting the wrongs that have been in place for years in this country... rest in power George… And know that your words resonated around the whole world…'
Justice: Zoe Kravitz joined celebrities flooding social media on Tuesday as they reacted to the news of Derek Chauvin being found guilty in the death of George Floyd
Satisfied: Director Ava DuVernay posted a fist emoji with the number three, representing each count Chauvin was found guilty on
Beloved: Actress Olivia Munn shared a shot of the late Floyd with his child, writing, 'Rest in love'
Simple: Zendaya reposted a tweet assessing the final verdict from writer George M. Johnson
A transcript last year revealed Floyd's last moments, whereby he was said to have called out: 'Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead'
Foxx finished his response by referencing Floyd's heartbreaking words, concluding: 'You asking for your mother… You asking for just a bit of air… You asked for dignity…. Today we took a small step towards honoring you and the thousands like u who had Their lives taken senselessly... god bless u and ur family. And god bless us all.'
Captain America actor Chris Evans also tweeted: 'Justice. Sending love to George Floyd’s family and friends.'
Optimistic: Singer Ciara said that the day marked a new hope for society
Short and sweet: NBA icon LeBron James posted the phrase accountability in all caps
Statement: Singers such as Michelle Williams, Leanne Rimes and Katy Perry posted messages in support of the verdict
Calling for change: Justin Timberlake said his heart was with George Floyd's family amid the news
The View's Sunny Hostin, who was appearing on ABC news, opened up about her legal background and how it tempered her expectations heading into Tuesday.
'I've been a lawyer for 27 years and I remember when I was in law school during my first year, the Rodney King verdict came out and it was an acquittal for four officers who, on video, beat and stomped and Tased a man, beat a man 56 times with a baton and I believed my eyes then,' Hostin said in the segment.
Hostin continued: 'So I believed my eyes this time with George Floyd, and even though I knew that fast verdicts always hint at an agreement, even though all of my training told me they likely convicted on at least the highest count or at least the lowest count.'
Moving forward: Hailey Bieber shared a statement about another step for social change
Moment to remember: Halsey shared a shot of her TV screen as news of the verdict came down
Details: Madonna shared a screengrab of the New York Times as the decision came down
Focused: Actress Sophia Bush said she was relieved that there was 'accountability, finally' in the case
She noted that police convictions are rare 'because Black men and Black boys are killed by police with impunity in this country,' adding, 'I am so relieved that this is what justice finally looks like for my community.'
Justin Timberlake said his heart was with George Floyd's family on the emotional day.
'This verdict is just the first step in a long line of injustice against the Black community, often with no consequences,' he said. 'The work is not nearly done. While there are many more families waiting for justice, my heart is with George Floyd’s family right now.'
Derek Chauvin has been found guilty on all counts - second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter - in the death of George Floyd.
The jury returned its verdict on Tuesday afternoon after just 10 and a half hours of deliberation.
Biden says Floyd's death 'ripped the blinders of systemic racism that is a stain on our nation'
President Joe Biden told the nation Tuesday that the verdict in the Derek Chauvin case sends the message that no one is 'above the law' – as he demanded new action to honor George Floyd after a killing he called a 'stain on the nation's soul.'
'No one should be above the law. And today’s verdict sends that message. But it’s not enough. It can’t stop here,' Biden said.
'It was a murder in the full light of day and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism the vice president just referred to,' Biden said.
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As the verdict was read out Chauvin looked on silently in the Hennepin County courtroom where jurors spent three weeks listening to testimony about the day Floyd died under the weight of the 45-year-old cop's knee during an arrest on May 25, 2020.
Judge Peter Cahill thanked the jury on behalf of the state of Minnesota for not only jury service but 'heavy duty jury service'. The state moved immediately to have Chauvin's bail revoked pending sentencing which will happen in eight weeks. Judge Cahill did so and Chauvin was remanded into custody taken from the courtroom in handcuffs.
Chauvin faces a minimum sentence of 12.5 years and maximum of 40 years if he serves terms for each charge concurrently. If served consecutively, he faces between 29 and 75 years.
Cheers rose from the crowds that had gathered outside the courthouse and down at the intersection of 38th and Chicago now known as George Floyd Square. Cup Foods, the store in which Floyd was last seen alive, shuttered its doors ahead of the decision.
President Joe Biden told the nation Tuesday that the verdict sends the message that no one is 'above the law' – as he demanded new action to honor Floyd after a killing he called a 'stain on the nation's soul.'
'No one should be above the law. And today’s verdict sends that message. But it’s not enough. It can’t stop here,' Biden said.
Floyd's younger brother, Philonise, 39, who took a knee at the courthouse steps at the start of the trial, was in court to hear the verdict read. He hugged Attorney General Keith Ellison and trial attorney Jerry Blackwell, whose voice was the first and last heard by the jury as he delivered both the state’s opening statement and their final rebuttal.
The jury sent their notice that a verdict had been reached at 2.30pm local time as Minneapolis and the country braced for potential violence stemming from the decision. Jurors had not sent back any questions to the judge or asked to review any of the hours of video or hundreds of exhibits entered in the course of the trial.
Non-essential courthouse staff were told to go home as Minneapolis battened down ahead of the verdict with 3,000 National Guard members and 1,100 law enforcement officers keeping a watchful eye over the city that's been on edge for weeks awaiting the conclusion of the trial.
Jurors had not sent back any questions to the judge or asked to review any video or hundreds of exhibits entered in the course of the trial
Cheers rose from the crowds that had gathered outside the courthouse and down at the intersection of 38th and Chicago now known as George Floyd Square
Possible minimum sentence if served consecutively would be 29 years behind bars with a maximum sentence of 75 years
Possible minimum sentence if served concurrently would be 12.5 years
Verdict came just hours after President Joe Biden called the evidence against Chauvin 'overwhelming'
Derek Chauvin is pictured in court on Tuesday as the jury found him guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd
Chauvin was led out of the court in handcuffs after the verdict came down on Tuesday afternoon
People celebrate Chauvin's guilty verdict at the site where Floyd was killed on Tuesday afternoon
A woman cheers after the verdict was read on Tuesday at the Hennepin County courthouse
People cheer outside the Cup Foods where Floyd died after Chauvin was found guilty on Tuesday
Cheers rose from the crowds that had gathered outside the courthouse after the verdict was read
Chauvin, 45, was accused of killing Floyd by pinning his knee on the 46-year-old black man's neck for 9 minutes, 29 seconds, as he lay face-down in handcuffs after being detained for using an alleged counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes
Judge Cahill is now expected to move immediately to sentencing and a so-called Blakely hearing after the state has filed a motion asking for sentences upwards of the state's presumptive guidelines.
According to those guidelines, both second and third degree murder charges carry a sentence of 12 years, with a discretionary range between 10 and 15, while second-degree manslaughter carries a sentence of four, with a discretionary range of three to five.
Chauvin waived his right for the matter to be heard by a jury so the judge alone will consider the aggravating factors brought by the state.
The prosecutors' motion claims that Floyd was particularly vulnerable as he was handcuffed, that he was treated with 'particular cruelty', that Chauvin had a position of authority, more than three people were involved and the crime was committed in front of children.
Several minors were among the bystanders that day – the youngest, nine-year-old Judeah, testified in court.
The specter of an appeal already looms with Judge Cahill himself admitting Monday that Congresswoman Maxine Waters may have handed the defense 'something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned'.
He was referring to the California Democrat's words on the eve of closing statements when she called for protesters to 'get more confrontational' if the jury did not return a verdict of 'guilty, guilty, guilty'.
Moment Biden, wife Jill and Kamala call George Floyd's family after Derek Chauvin was found guilty and say: 'We are all so relieved... this is our real shot to deal with systematic racism'
President Joe Biden phoned family members and lawyers for George Floyd just minutes after a Minnesota jury returned a guilty verdict for Chauvin, as he again consoled family members and celebrated a verdict that he said would 'change the world.'
Biden phoned along with Vice President Kamala Harris and first lady Jill Biden. And in a modern twist, lead attorney Benjamin Crump played the call on speaker phone – with the discussion instantly beamed around the world on social media and cable news.
'Feeling better now,' Biden told tearful family members and listeners who gathered around Crump's phone. 'Nothing is going to make it all better. But at least, God, now there's some justice,' Biden said.
President Joe Biden phoned family members and lawyers for George Floyd and lawyer Benjamin Crump on Tuesday following the verdict in the Derek Chauvin case
Benjamin Crump tweeted out the exchange. He laughed when Biden said he wanted to provide family members a ride on Air Force One during a future trip to Washington
Biden referenced comments by Floyd's daughter, Gianna, that her late father was going to change the world. 'He's going to start to change it now,' Biden told the group.
Biden previously revealed he also called the family Monday, with the outcome uncertain – and as the White House noted repeatedly, the jury was sequestered.
He told the family afterward: 'You're an incredible family. I wish I were there – just [to] put my arms around you.'
He told them he was with White House advisor, former Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, while making the call, which Biden made from the Oval Office.
'We've been watching every second of this, and the vice president, all of us. We were all so relieved, not just one verdict but all three,' Biden said.
'It's really important. I'm anxious to see you guys, I really am. We're going to get a lot more done,' he promised them. 'We're going to stay at it until we get it done,' Biden said.
That prompted Crump to push Biden to act on and sign the George Floyd policing act, which is stalled in the Senate.
'You got it pal. That and a lot more,' Biden promised. He said the outcome 'provided a fresh shot at dealing with genuine systemic racism.'
Harris, the nation's first black and first female vice president, also spoke. 'I'm just so grateful for the entire family,' she said, saluting 'your courage, your commitment.'
'This is a day of justice in America,' Harris said. She called the family 'real leaders when we needed you.'
'History will look back at this moment and know that it was an inflection moment,' she said. 'We're going to make something good come out of this tragedy, okay?' she said.
Then Biden chimed back in. 'When we do it, we're going to put you on Air Force One and get you here,' he said, prompting laughs.
'We're going to hold you to that, President Biden,' Crump responded.
President Joe Biden said he is praying for George Floyd's family and called the evidence in the Derek Chauvin trial 'overwhelming'
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden wasn't weighing in on the verdict but expressing concern about the Floyd family
Earlier Tuesday, Biden said he was praying for the 'right verdict' in George Floyd trial and called the evidence 'overwhelming’ in series of extraordinary comments that come as the jury begins its second day of deliberations in the Derek Chauvin case.
'I'm praying the verdict is the right verdict. Which is – I think it's overwhelming in my view,' Biden told reporters in the Oval office. 'I wouldn’t say that unless the jury was sequestered now.'
The White House later claimed Biden wasn’t advocating for a particular verdict but expressing compassion for the Floyd family.
‘I don't think he would see it as weighing in on the verdict,’ White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at her press briefing. ‘He was conveying what many people are feeling across the country, which is compassion for the family.’
She indicated Biden could have more to say after the verdict is rendered. Biden is weighing an address to the nation, according to reports.
‘I expect that he will weigh in more, further, once there is a verdict and I'm not going to provide additional analysis on what he meant,’ Psaki said, declining to clarify if Biden wanted Chauvin found guilty on all charges.
She defended Biden’s comments, saying the president had closely followed the trial, has gotten close to the Floyd family and waited to speak until the jury was sequestered.
George Floyd's brother Philonise reveals President Biden called him on Monday when the jury was sent out to deliberate in Derek Chauvins' trial
Philonise went on to say: 'I just feel that in America, if a Black man can't get justice for this, what can a Black man get justice for?'
George W. Bush also discussed the verdict in an interview with Today on Tuesday morning. 'I think the first thing is, Hoda, that people know that the trial has been conducted fairly. And that rule of law reigns supreme in our judiciary. We’ll see what a jury of his peers says, you know, I think a lot of people have already made up their mind what the verdict ought to be.
'All I can tell you is that if the trial is not conducted fairly, there is an appeal process. One of the things that we learned after the storming of the Capitol was our institutions held, and one of the institutions that is really important for the confidence of the American people is a fair judicial system.'
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Chauvin was handcuffed and taken away to the cells on Tuesday after Judge Cahill revoked his bail, ahead of sentencing for the murder of George Floyd. He showed no emotion and was taken straight to the cells in Hennepin County Government Center, where the trial was held, for processing.
His attorneys will have to notify the trial court within 60 days if they plan to appeal. His lawyers then have months to review transcripts and court filings dating from the start of the case to build their arguments.
They are likely to try and overturn the verdict based on the location - which they argue was too tense to ensure a fair trial - and on the media coverage, plus the $27 million settlement awarded to the family before the trial began. Chauvin's defense tried to argue that it prejudiced the jury, saying it implied guilt.
It was unclear where Chauvin would be held for the next eight weeks, until sentencing.
Chauvin spent four months at the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center in St. Paul, 11 miles east of the downtown Minneapolis courtroom, following his arrest.
The 500-bed pre-trial facility was where Chauvin was held from May 27 - two days after Floyd's killing - until he was freed on a $1 million bail in October.
Wherever Chauvin is kept prior to his sentencing, he will be closely watched to ensure his safety.
He will certainly be considered a suicide risk, and will be closely monitored.
Warning signs should have flashed around Chauvin years before he murdered Floyd. A Minneapolis Police veteran of 19 years, he acted more like a ruthless Wild West sheriff than a modern day lawman.
'This fight for justice is not over': Lizzo, Whoopi Goldberg, Kerry Washington and more stars react as Derek Chauvin is found guilty
Celebrities flooded social media on Tuesday as they reacted to the news of Chauvin being found guilty on all three charges of murder and manslaughter in death of Floyd.
Whoopi Goldberg, Kerry Washington, Chris Evans and Mariah Carey were just some of the stars who were first to share their thoughts on Twitter, seconds after the jury in Minneapolis returned its verdict.
Scandal actress Washington, 44, tweeted: 'A guilty #verdict. But this fight for justice is not over. We have a lot of work to do. There is more fight ahead of us. But RIGHT NOW please take CARE of yourself. And let's take care of each other. Prayers and love to the family of #GeorgeFloyd.'
The View host Goldberg, 65, told her followers: 'Guilty Guilty Guilty... No one wins.. George Floyd is still gone.. and finally someone was responsible... Derek Chauvin.' Goldberg's Republican co-host Meghan McCain simply tweeted: 'May justice heal our nation.'
Stars react: Whoopi Goldberg, Kerry Washington and more stars react as Derek Chauvin is found guilty on ALL three charges of murder and manslaughter in death of George Floyd
Thankful: Oprah Winfrey took to Instagram with an older picture of Floyd donning a tuxedo, expressing her relief after the verdict was read
Oprah Winfrey took to Instagram with an older picture of Floyd donning a tuxedo, expressing her relief after the verdict was read.
'Relieved - and emotional in ways I didn’t expect,' she said. 'I cried tears of joy as each verdict was read. I'm grateful to the witnesses and their testimonies. Grateful to every Juror for seeing and acknowledging what the world saw on that tape. Thank you God for real!'
Meanwhile, Oscar-winner Viola Davis lead reactions on Instagram who posted a painting of Floyd with the caption: 'GUILTY!!!! As it should!! Now....rest in peace George Floyd. Rest. You and your family have been vindicated.'
In an emotional video posted to Instagram, Grammy winner Lizzo spoke directly to her 10.2million followers, while holding back her tears.
She captioned the post: 'Thank you to all the organizations dedicated to the protest and protection of black people. Twin cities you have been through so much. Nothing to say here but I love you. Rest in power George Floyd.'
Activism: Scandal star Kerry Washington also shared this call to action on her Instagram page as well as reacting on Twitter. Amy Schumer posted the same infographic
Speaking out: Sharon Stone (left) and Megan Thee Stallion (right) shared their reactions to the verdict on Instagram
Kerry Washington also took to her Instagram page to share a graphic that read 'We have a verdict. Now what?' which contained a call to action for her followers, urging them to help pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Mariah Carey also shared the same graphic, adding to her Instagram Stories: 'Thank you because we need this. Sending love and prayers to the Floyd family. This is a day that will never be forgotten.. Believing something good will come out of this tragedy.. it's a start. Praise the Lord!'
Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx posted his reaction to the verdict, which he called a 'bittersweet moment' in a response on Instagram.
'I am happy and relieved that the person that did this horrendous thing to you and your family was found guilty,' Foxx began his post. 'The bitter is that we cannot bring you back… The bitter is all of the lives that were affected by what happened to you… all the tears that have been shed... and hearts broken...'
He continued: 'But through prayer and faithful people… Today with the announcement of this Verdict gives us some type of hope... hope that we can start righting the wrongs that have been in place for years in this country... rest in power George… And know that your words resonated around the whole world…'
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He once pulled a gun on some teenagers who shot a toy dart out of their car window. He was a bully who belittled a breast feeding new mother.
And, in chilling echoes of what was to come, he held his knee on a black woman suspect as she begged: 'Don't kill me.'
Chauvin worked in one of the city's busiest divisions, the Third Precinct, and on its toughest shift.
His desire to work the 4pm to 2am beat gained him admiration from some colleagues but saw him rack up at least 22 complaints, four times the norm.
He earned two medals of valor, but other officers said just being around him made them feel uncomfortable.
They recalled how he would leave work in uniform with his trousers pulled up higher than most people wore them. His boots were always polished, as if he expected to be inspected by the chief any minute.
He didn't fit in with the other cops, rarely socializing and not drinking. One former colleague told the New York Times: 'In a group setting he would never connect and stood there like a small child.'
Chauvin was married to Kellie Xiong, 46, a former radiologist and beauty queen who won the Mrs Minnesota title in 2018
Chauvin grew up in the Minneapolis suburb of West St Paul. His parents divorced when he was seven and his father asked for a paternity test on his sister: it turned out he was not the father.
He moved in with his accountant dad and attended four different elementary schools in five years.
After working as a US military cop in Germany he joined the Minneapolis Police Force in 2000 aged 24. On nights off he worked as a security guard at the city's El Nuevo Rodeo nightclub.
Maya Santamaria, the club's former owner, said that Chauvin was 'nice but he would overreact and lash out quickly', especially on nights popular with black and latinos. Also working there, although it seems they did not know each other, was George Floyd.
Chauvin's bad attitude was on display for those unfortunate enough to have come across him years before. Zoya Code, who is black, claims that in 2017 Chauvin put his knee on her even though she was handcuffed. A terrified Miss Code said that she pleaded: 'Don't kill me.' He just stayed on my neck,' she added and when, frustrated and upset, she challenged him to press harder, he did. 'Just to shut me up,' she said.
She told Chauvin's fellow officers: 'You're learning from an animal. That man – that's evilness right there.' In 2013 he pulled his gun on four teenagers who shot a Nerf gun dart out of their car window.
Kristofer Bergh, then 17, said that after an hour during which the teenager who fired the dart was put in the police car, Chauvin let them all off with the warning: 'Most of you will be 18 by the end of the year. That means you'll be old enough for 'big boy jail'.'
Julian Hernandez claimed that Chauvin used excessive force when he arrested him at the El Nuevo Rodeo club in 2015.
He said: 'He tried to grab me from my neck, and, of course, I reacted. And then, after that, he choked me out on the ground.'
Chauvin was formally disciplined for pulling a young mother out of her car and ridiculing her when he saw wet patches on her chest from breastfeeding.
According to Melissa Borton, Chauvin, or his colleague, told her: 'You probably have postpartum depression, and you need help.'
Chauvin was married to Kellie Xiong, 46, a former radiologist and beauty queen who won the Mrs Minnesota title in 2018. She once described her husband in a local newspaper interview as 'a softie'. 'He's such a gentleman. He still opens the door for me, still puts my coat on for me', she said.
Her view has now changed. She filed for divorce two days after Chauvin killed Floyd.
Chauvin's verdict came as a devastating blow to the three other officers charged in connection with Floyd's death - Thomas Lane, 38; J Alexander Keung, 27; and Tou Thao, 35 - who are set to face trial on charges for aiding and abetting Chauvin's crimes in August.
NEW YORK: Spike Lee takes a photograph with children after the hearing the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in Brooklyn, New York City
Women embrace after hearing Chauvin's guilty verdict on three charges for Floyd's death on Tuesday afternoon
A man rejoices outside Cup Foods after the jury found Chauvin guilty on Tuesday afternoon
People react to the Chauvin verdict outside the Hennepin County courthouse on Tuesday afternoon
People gathered outside Cup Foods cheer after the jury handed down its guilty verdict on Tuesday afternoon
MINNESOTA V DEREK CHAUVIN - CHARGES
Second-degree murder - GUILTY
Possible sentence: 12.5 to 40 years
The second-degree murder charge required prosecutors to prove Chauvin caused Floyd's death while committing or trying to commit a felony — in this case, third-degree assault.
Prosecutors had to convince the jury that Chauvin assaulted or attempted to assault Floyd and in doing so inflicted substantial bodily harm. Prosecutors did not have to prove Chauvin was the sole cause of Floyd's death - only that his conduct was a 'substantial causal factor'.
Second degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 40 years, but because Chauvin does not have any prior convictions sentencing guidelines recommend he serve 12.5 years.
Second-degree manslaughter - GUILTY
Possible sentence: Four to 10 years
The manslaughter charge has a lower bar, requiring proof that Chauvin caused Floyd's death through negligence that created an unreasonable risk, and consciously took the chance of causing severe injury or death.
Second degree manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison - sentencing guidelines for someone without a criminal record call for no more than four years behind bars.
Third-degree murder - GUILTY
Possible sentence: 12.5 to 25 years
Third-degree murder required a lower standard of proof than second-degree. To win a conviction, prosecutors needed to show only that Floyd's death was caused by an act that was obviously dangerous, though not necessarily a felony.
Third-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 25 years but because Chauvin has no criminal history he would likely end up serving about 12.5.
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Over 15 days of testimony the jury of seven men and five women - six white, four black and two bi-racial - was guided through every facet over Floyd's death through the eyes of 45 witnesses and hundreds of pieces of evidence.
In his opening statement, trial attorney Jerry Blackwell told the jury that Chauvin had betrayed the badge he wore on his heart. He said the former officer had violated police policy and trampled the sanctity of human life.
For Blackwell it all boiled down to the nine minutes 29 seconds of Floyd's subdual restraint and neck compression. 'You can believe your eyes' he said, 'That it's a homicide, that it's a murder.'
Not so, according to defense attorney Eric Nelson, for whom the truth could only be viewed through a far wider lens.
For Nelson this was all about reason, doubt and common sense. Common sense would tell the jury that what they had seen with their own eyes was only one part of a much bigger picture.
He said, 'We have to examine the totality of the evidence. That's what this case is ultimately about, the evidence. It is nothing more than that.'
As Nelson sought to un-pick emotions from the scenes of Floyd's death and the testimony of a host of eyewitnesses brought by the state, a heavy fear of what might happen when the verdict came down gripped the city of Minneapolis.
The downtown area was shored up with boards nailed over the windows of businesses downtown and the concrete blockades, steel fences and bails of barbed wire embracing the court and government buildings.
More than 3,000 members of the National Guard were called in to bolster the 1,100 public safety officers already in place – their armored vehicles parked in serried rank not only at the government buildings but in store parking lots, intersections and sidewalks across the city.
The city was reported to have spent more than $1million on security in a four-stage plan dubbed Operation Safety Net, which kicked off with jury selection and entered its final stage with the verdict announcement.
The screw turned tighter with the April 11 shooting of Daunte Wright - the 20-year-old black man killed in a traffic stop by Brooklyn Center police barely ten miles from where Chauvin stood trial.
Night after night the protests raged and curfews were broken in an unending echo of the civil unrest that followed Floyd's death last May.
The verdict brings to an end a trial that has been riven with drama and threats of derailment that started before the jury was even empaneled - with the city's announcement of their $27million civil settlement with the Floyd family - and continued after closing statements' end.
Nelson made the last of his many bids for a mistrial on the back of statements from Rep Waters. Judge Cahill called Waters' comments 'abhorrent' but denied Nelson's mistrial bid and his contention that the jury could no longer be considered 'untainted'.
Nelson had tried on many occasions to have the trial delayed and moved out of Hennepin County, but Judge Cahill would hear of neither. There was not a county in the state, he said, that had not heard of Chauvin and Floyd and no span of time would be great enough for the case to have been forgotten by any.
The judge also refused Nelson's repeated bids to have the jury sequestered ahead of deliberations. The defense attorney's most recent bid came on the heels of the police shooting of Wright.
People stand outside Cup Foods on Tuesday ahead of the jury announcement
People arrive for the verdict in Chauvin's trial outside the Hennepin County Courthouse on Tuesday
Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson (center) arrives at the Hennepin County courthouse on Tuesday to await the verdict
Protesters gathered in Minneapolis on Monday as the jury started their deliberations toward a verdict in Chauvin's case
Members of the National Guard and police officers stand guard in Minneapolis ahead of a Chauvin verdict
Hennepin County Government Center, where the Chauvin trial is being held, is protected with high fences and concrete
'I'm not celebrating, I'm relieved': Maxine Waters reacts to Chauvin's guilty verdicts as she avoids House censure over trial comments
Waters said Tuesday she was 'not celebrating' following the guilty verdict in the Chauvin case – days after her own call for protesters to get 'confrontational' caused an uproar.
She made the comment after the 12-member jury who heard the case pronounced the former police officer guilty on three counts.
'You know, someone said it better than me, I’m not celebrating, I’m relieved,' she said.
Her statement came after Waters and Democratic leaders also found relief on the House floor – after a motion to censure the longtime Democratic officeholder failed narrowly in the closely divided House.
House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy moved Tuesday to formally censure Waters for her comments urging protesters to 'get more confrontational' depending on the outcome of the Chauvin trial. He moved quickly to force the issue, after a host of GOP lawmakers condemned the comments.
The House voted to table, or kill, the effort on a party-line 216-210 party line vote.
The result was to temporarily set aside an effort that would have served as a high-profile rebuke by the Congress, although lawmakers could still seek other measures.
The resolution quoted from Judge Peter Cahill, who presided over the trial, and who told the defense Waters 'may have given you something on appeal.' The House vote came just as the nation was bracing for a verdict in the Chauvin trial for the killing of George Floyd. The nation heard the outcome just minutes after the House vote.
California Rep. Maxine Waters presided over a House Financial Services Committee hearing Tuesday, as Republicans demanded she lose her committee seats or be kicked out of Congress for her call for protesters to 'stay confrontational.' The House voted to table a resolution to censure her over the comments
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif. moved Tuesday to censure Waters – which drew an immediate tabling motion on the House floor
If censured, Waters would have been be required to appear in the well of the House – a solemn repercussion the House last experienced in the censure of former Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York.
Democrats needed to hold together nearly their entire majority, given their razor-thin margin. In a sign of how little room for error they had, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer were seen outside the doors of the chamber where they could see lawmakers entering.
McCarthy tweeted out the resolution earlier Tuesday, writing: 'Chairwoman Waters' actions are beneath the dignity of this institution. They raised the potential for violence, directed lawlessness, and may have interfered with a co-equal branch of government.'
Democrats immediately pointed the finger at McCarthy for failing to take any action against Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia after her own past comments about Q Anon, slavery, George Soros, and Muslims were unearthed. The House ultimately voted to strip Greene of her panel assignments.
McCarthy's move got a stern rebuke from Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Mich.), the chair of the Democratic caucus. 'Clean up your mess, Kevin,' he said in words directed at McCarthy. 'Sit this one out. You've got no credibility,' he said, pointing to GOP members like Greene with their own issues.
'Lauren Boebert is a mess. Matt Gaetz is a mess. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a mess,' Jeffries said, referencing a trio of GOP lawmakers.
Barack and Michelle Obama insist the jury did 'the right thing' in finding Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts and call for the elimination of racial bias
Barack and Michelle Obama have said the jury did 'the right thing' in finding Chauvin guilty on all charges but said more needs to be done.
In a joint statement released after the verdict was announced, they said: 'For almost a year, Floyd's death under the knee of a police officer has reverberated around the world — inspiring murals and marches, sparking conversations in living rooms and new legislation.'
'But a more basic question has always remained: would justice be done?'
Barack and Michelle Obama have said the jury did 'the right thing' in finding Derek Chauvin guilty on all charges but said more needs to be done
In a joint statement released after the verdict was announced, they said: 'For almost a year, George Floyd's death under the knee of a police officer has reverberated around the world — inspiring murals and marches, sparking conversations in living rooms and new legislation.'
'In this case, at least, we have our answer. But if we're being honest with ourselves, we know that true justice is about much more than a single verdict in a single trial.'
The pair called for 'concrete reforms' in policing and for the elimination of racial bias from the nation's criminal justice system.
'Michelle and I send our prayers to the Floyd family, and we stand with all those who are committed to guaranteeing every American the full measure of justice that George and so many others have been denied,' he said.
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The state's case: Prosecutors called 38 witnesses - including police officials, medical experts and people who watched Floyd's fatal arrest in real time - to prove the black man's death caused by Chauvin's actions
Chauvin's highly anticipated trial began on March 29 with an opening statement from trial attorney Blackwell, who vowed to prove that the defendant 'betrayed the badge' when he 'did not get up, did not let up' for nine minutes and 29 seconds, even after Floyd stopped breathing and despite the fevered pleas from bystanders for him to release Floyd.
What's next? Case heads to pre-sentencing investigation
Chauvin's sentence will rely heavily on a pre-sentencing investigation during which his character and habits – things not touched on in trial – will be taken into consideration.
Ahead of the trial the prosecution lobbied to have eight of Chauvin's prior arrests in which they argue he used excessive force admitted in court.
Judge Cahill deemed all but two inadmissible on the grounds that the incidents were not similar enough and that the prosecution were improperly trying to show Chauvin's propensity to resort to unreasonable force.
At the time he made his decision Cahill said that the state was simply trying 'to depict Chauvin as a "thumper"'.
Ultimately the prosecution decided not to make the arrests part of their case-in-chief but they may be used in any bid to see Chauvin handed down a higher sentence then allowed by sentencing guidelines if convicted.
A second ground on which the prosecution could also ask for this applies to 'crimes committed in front of children'. The state called nine-year-old Judeah as a witness possibly with this in mind.
According to the Minnesota sentencing guidelines, the presumptive sentence for a person such as Chauvin with no criminal history is the same for murder in the third and unintentional murder in the second; 12 and a half years. But the judge has discretion to sentence anywhere between ten years and eight months to 15 years.
If the judge rules that aggravating factors are present and departs from the guidelines, the maximum sentence would be 40 years for second-degree murder, 25 years for third-degree murder and 10 years for second-degree manslaughter.
It remains unclear where Chauvin will serve his sentence - and officials may keep the location under wraps due to safety concerns.
Because he was convicted at the state level he will be incarcerated at one of the following state prisons:
MCF - Faribault
MCF - Lino Lakes
MCF - Oak Park Heights
MCF - Red Wing
MCF - Rush City
MCF - St. Cloud
MCF - Stillwater
MCF - Togo
MCF - Moose Lake
MCF - Oak Park Heights would be a likely pick for Chauvin because as the state's only Level 5 maximum-security prison with fewer than 500 inmates it is regarded as one of the safest for high-risk offenders.
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Over the next 11 days prosecutors brought in 38 witnesses - beginning with people who watched Floyd's fatal arrest unfold in real time.
Among them was 911 dispatcher Jena Scurry, who called the officers' supervisor with concerns about their use of force; off-duty firefighter and EMT Genevieve Hansen, who begged the officers to allow her to provide medical aid; nine-year-old Judeah and her cousin Darnella Frazier, who filmed the most famous viral video of the arrest; and mixed martial arts fighter Don Williams, who testified that Chauvin used a 'blood choke' on Floyd.
Christopher Martin, the Cup Foods employee whose concerns about a counterfeit $20 bill Floyd used to buy cigarettes led to his arrest, also testified that he wished he hadn't said anything because he believes Floyd might still be alive today if he'd kept quiet.
During testimony from these eye-witnesses the jury was shown several graphic videos of Floyd's confrontation with police. Prosecutors also showed video of Floyd inside the Cup Foods store before police were called, in which he appeared agitated, distracted and potentially under the influence of drugs.
The second week of the trial was dominated by technical testimony, beginning with senior Minneapolis Police Department officials, including Chief Medaria Arradondo, who testified that Chauvin violated department policy when he restrained Floyd for nine minutes and 29 seconds.
Police officials testified that while officers might sometimes use a knee across a person's back or shoulder to gain or maintain control, they're also taught the specific dangers for a person in Floyd's position - prone on his stomach, with his hands cuffed behind him - and how such a person must be turned into a side recovery position as soon as possible.
Later in the prosecutors called a string of medical experts to testify that Floyd died due to a lack of oxygen, not from a primary cardiac event. Some of the most powerful testimony came from Dr Martin Tobin, a pulmonologist who told jurors that other factors, not just Chauvin's knee, made it hard for Floyd to breathe: officers lifting up his handcuffs, the hard pavement, his turned head and a knee on his back.
Tobin pinpointed the moment when he said he could see Floyd take his last breath - and said Chauvin's knee remained on Floyd's neck another 3 minutes, two seconds. 'At the beginning, you can see he's conscious, you can see slight flickering, and then it disappears,' Tobin said as he highlighted a still image from police body-camera video. 'That's the moment the life goes out of his body.'
However Hennepin Count's Chief Medical Examiner Dr Andrew Baker, the only man to have actually laid hands on Floyd and examined him at autopsy, did not come to the same conclusions as the state's other medical witness, including Tobin.
According to Baker, Floyd died of 'Cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual restraint and neck compression.' He cited Floyd's arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease, fentanyl toxication and recent methamphetamine use as contributing factors.
Put bluntly, Baker said what happened that day was simply more than Floyd's already compromised system could take.
As hard as the state worked to stitch together a case that left no room for reasonable doubt, Nelson picked and prodded at the seams and offered up another narrative entirely.
In each cross-examination Nelson pointed at all of the things the prosecution would have the jury disregard; the fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd's system, his enlarged and diseased heart, his high blood pressure and his 'modus operandi' of claiming he could not breathe and rapidly ingesting drugs when approached by police.
The state rested its case on April 13, at which point all eyes turned to Nelson.
Prosecutors repeatedly referenced this timeline of Floyd's fatal arrest during the trial and showed it once again on Monday
Prosecutors showed this graphic to remind how police officials testified that Chauvin's use of force was unreasonable
The jury was shown these photos of the injuries Floyd sustained as he was pinned to the ground as medical experts testified about how he struggled to lift himself up off the pavement
The defense case: Chauvin's attorneys called just seven witnesses - including use-of-force expert who said the defendant's restraint was 'justified and reasonable' and medical expert who said highlighted Floyd's heart problems
At the center of Nelson's defense was the argument that Floyd's death was not caused by Chauvin's actions but by outside factors - namely Floyd's drug addiction and underlying health conditions, including a bad heart.
Nelson made two other key arguments: that use of force is an unattractive but essential component of policing, and that the hostile crowd that surrounded Chauvin and fellow officers as they restrained Floyd had distracted them from proper procedure and care.
Nelson called just seven witnesses over two days of testimony. He began by showing the jury video from Floyd's arrest on May 6, 2019, in an effort to portray that he had a history of feigning medical distress and rapidly ingesting pills when confronted by police through testimony by an officer and a paramedic involved in that arrest.
The next two witnesses - Minneapolis Park Police Officer Peter Chang and Floyd's friend Shawanda Hill - spoke about what they saw on the day of Floyds death as the court was shown new body-camera footage of the chaos.
The sixth witness was Barry Brodd, a former cop and use-of-force expert who testified that Chauvin did not use deadly force against Floyd. In fact, Brodd argued that Chauvin's placing the handcuffed black man in the prone position and kneeling on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds did not constitute use of force at all.
One that got away: Floyd's friend refused to testify for fear of self-incrimination
Morries Lester Hall is pictured in court on April 14
Chauvin's defense took a blow on April 14 when Judge Cahill ruled that Morries Lester Hall, Floyd's friend and alleged drug dealer who was with him on the day he died, would not be forced to testify.
Nelson had hoped Hall's testimony would help shift blame for Floyd's death onto himself, for his drug use and other health problems.
On March 31, Hall filed a shock motion stating his intention to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination if called to testify for either side.
The motion came hours before the jury heard testimony from Floyd's girlfriend, Courteney Ross, who claimed both she and Floyd were supplied illicit drugs by Hall - who denied that allegation. Under Minnesota law a person who provides drugs to a person who subsequently dies of an overdose is liable for third degree murder charges.
Standing briefly before the judge on April 14, Hall said: 'I am fearful of criminal charges going forward [because] I have open charges not settled yet.'
Hall's lawyer, state defender Adrienne Cousins said that for Hall to answer anything would be for him to present himself 'on a silver platter' to the state should they pursue any third degree murder investigation.
Judge Peter Cahill ruled that this was a valid invocation of the Fifth Amendment and quashed the subpoena calling Hall to testify.
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'It's a control technique. It doesn't hurt,' Brodd said. 'It's safe for the officer, safe for the suspect and you're using minimal effort to keep them on the ground.'
During direct examination by Nelson, Brodd said Chauvin was 'justified' and acting 'with objective reasonableness' in his interactions with Floyd.
He said that 'it's easy to sit and judge in an office' but altogether more difficult to 'put yourself in an officer's shoes' to really assess what was reasonable in that moment.
Brodd also argued that Chauvin and his fellow officers felt 'threatened' by the gathering crowd. He said that under such circumstances an officer can 'find themselves in a fight for their life in a heartbeat'.
Under cross examination Brodd was shown the all-too-familiar image of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck and conceded that such a restraint would cause pain and thus also 'could be use of force'. However he maintained that Floyd did appear to be resisting arrest through much of the restraint
The final and perhaps most influential witness called was Dr David Fowler, a former chief medical examiner in Maryland who shared his conclusion that Floyd's death should have never been classified as a homicide because there were too many competing potential causes of death.
Fowler said Floyd died from a 'sudden cardiac arrhythmia' due to his underlying heart disease during his restraint by police. That conclusion was refuted by Dr Baker, the Hennepin County chief medical examiner who performed Floyd's autopsy.
Fowler also said that Floyd had an enlarged heart, which meant he needed more oxygen to function, and that methamphetamine use heightened his risk of cardiac arrhythmia.
He also presented a theory that Floyd may have been exposed to exhaust fumes from the squad car he was pinned next to, potentially causing some degree of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Later in his lengthy and technical testimony, Fowler cited multiple studies which challenged the notion that the prone position - in which Floyd was held for nine minutes and 29 seconds - is inherently dangerous.
He also referenced studies which concluded that it doesn't matter how much a person weighs if they are applying a single knee to another person - and a double knee restraint makes only a modest difference.
According to those studies a person transfers just 23 percent of their bodyweight during a double knee restraint. So, Dr Fowler said, Chauvin – who he viewed as applying a single knee restraint for most of the restraint – would have been applying less than 30 to 35 pounds of weight to Floyd.
Fowler asserted that none of that weight compromised Floyd's 'vital neck structures', that there was no evidence of injury to Floyd's neck and that the pressure applied was less than the amount necessary to bruise him.
Moments before the defense rested Chauvin addressed the court for the first time on the morning of April 15 and invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination, meaning he would not take the stand.
In a brief rebuttal later that morning the prosecution recalled Dr Tobin to refute Fowler's claims about the potential for carbon monoxide poisoning, with which Tobin said he disagreed entirely.
Judge Cahill barred Tobin from referring to specific test results with Floyd's carbon monoxide levels, which the prosecution sought to enter into evidence just minutes earlier. But Tobin told the court Floyd's hemoglobin was 98 percent saturated with oxygen, leaving up to two percent for carbon monoxide. Pressing that point Tobin told the jury: 'You and I have somewhere between zero and three.'
Judge Cahill excused the jurors through the weekend, reminding them to pack a bag ahead of sequestration on Monday following closing statements.
The defense called two expert witnesses: Dr David Fowler (left), who told the jury that Floyd's death should have never been classified as a homicide because there were too many competing potential causes of death; and use-of-force expert Barry Brodd (right), who said Chauvin's use of force was 'reasonable' and 'justified'
Chauvin briefly addressed the court on April 14 and said he will not testify
Closing statements: Prosecution asks jury if Floyd would have died without Chauvin's restraint while defense insists the officers actions were 'reasonable'
Closing statements were held on Monday morning, where prosecutors asked the jury to consider one question in coming to a verdict: Would Floyd have died were it not for the cop's restraint?
Prosecutor Steve Schleicher presented that question as he cast doubt on the myriad of factors the defense presented as contributing causes of Floyd's death, including his drug use, heart problems and potential exposure to exhaust from the squad car he was pinned next to on May 25.
'The defendant knew better. He just didn't do better,' Schleicher said of Chauvin. 'George Floyd did not have to die that day, should not have died that day. But, for the fact that the defendant decided not to get up, and not to let up, George Floyd died.'
Schleicher also refuted the defense suggestion that Floyd had 'superhuman strength' during his arrest because he was suffering from 'excited delirium'.
Floyd was 'a human being,' the prosecutor said. 'There is no such thing as super human, that exists in comic books.'
Underlining how hard Floyd fought just to be able to breathe, Schleicher showed the court graphic photos of the injuries he suffered when he was pinned down, which had been previously presented to the jury but were not released publicly until Monday.
In his closing statement, Nelson insisted that Chauvin acted as any reasonable officer would have when he pinned Floyd to the pavement, while underlining the handcuffed black man's 'active resistance' to arrest.
In his closing statement Prosecutor Steve Schleicher (left) asked the jury to consider whether Floyd would have died were it not for Chauvin's restraint. Closing for the defense, Eric Nelson (right) insisted that Chauvin acted as any reasonable officer would have when he pinned Floyd to the pavement while underlining the handcuffed black man's 'active resistance' to arrest
Who is Peter Cahill? Hennepin County judge worked as a public defender, a prosecutor and a top adviser to Sen Amy Klobuchar before taking the bench 14 years ago
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill was appointed to the bench in 2007 after serving as a public defender and a prosecutor
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, 64, is known for his decisive and direct style of overseeing cases, which he built through years of service as both a public defender and a prosecutor.
Cahill graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1984 before starting his career in the Hennepin County Public Defender's Office. He served there for three years before joining the private firm of renowned defense attorney Michael Colich, where he worked from 1987 to 1993.
In 1997 Cahill moved to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, where he served as top adviser to US Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, when she was the county's head prosecutor.
During his 10-year stint as a prosecutor, Cahill went to the State Supreme Court to argue against a ruling that limited police officers' ability to question and search motorists without a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.
Cahill was appointed to the bench by Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty in 2007 and quickly built a reputation as a no-nonsense, fair justice. He was elected by the public in 2014 and 2020, and his current term expires in January 2027.
One of his biggest rulings came in 2015 when he dismissed charges against the organizers of a large Black Lives Matter rally at the Mall of America, saying the demonstration had been peaceful.
Cahill was thrust into the spotlight when Chief Hennepin District Judge Toddrick Barnette tapped him to oversee Derek Chauvin's trial, one of the most highly-anticipated and influential in the history of Minnesota and the US.
'This moment is not too big for him,' Barnette said of Cahill. 'He will make thoughtful legal decisions based upon the law, even if the decisions are unpopular.'
Early on Cahill made the unprecedented decision to allow cameras in his court for the first time in Minnesota's history. Announcing the decision, Cahill said he decided the 'only way to vindicate the defendants' constitutional right to a public trial and the media's and public's constitutional rights of access to criminal trials is to allow audio and video coverage of the trial'.
Lawyers who know him described the move as 'classic Cahill'.
'He is very decisive. He applies the law fairly,' Colich, Cahill's friend and former boss, told NPR. 'He's not going to be intimidated. And you're going to see that as the trial goes on, he'll control the courtroom. He'll let the lawyers do their jobs, but he will be in control.'
Before the trial Cahill won praise for standing firm on his decisions not to delay or move proceedings despite media attention. Over three weeks of testimony he was quick to interject when either side appeared to veer into a line of questioned that violated the clear rules he had set.
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Nelson urged the jury to examine all of the evidence presented over three weeks of testimony and come to the conclusion that the state did not meet the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Floyd's death was a direct result of Chauvin's actions on May 25, 2020.
'This was an authorized use of force - as unattractive as that may be,' Nelson said, noting that none of the state's use-of-force experts or police officials could agree on a specific point where Chauvin's actions became unreasonable.
He also emphasized the 'hostile' reactions of the crowd that gathered to watch Floyd's arrest and yelled out for the officers to get off of him - asserting that the chaos was distracting for Chauvin.
Toward the end of his three-hour statement, Nelson ripped into prosecutors for discounting Floyd's underlying health issues and drug use when arguing that Floyd's primary cause of death was asphyxia during Chauvin's restraint.
'When you take into consideration the presumption of innocence and proof beyond a reason doubt. I would submit to you that it is nonsense to suggest that none of these other factors had any role. That is not reasonable,' Nelson said.
'When you conclude your analysis of the evidence, the entirety of the evidence, when you review the law as written, all within a thorough honest analysis, the state has failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. And therefore Mr Chauvin should be found not guilty of all counts.'
On rebuttal, trial attorney Blackwell came to a dramatic conclusion: 'The reason George Floyd is dead is because Mr Chauvin's heart was too small.'
The jury was then dismissed for deliberation before Nelson called for a mistrial over Blackwell's characterization of the defense's case as 'nonsense' and a 'story' - as well as the possibility that media attention could bias the jury.
Judge Cahill said he was not making any findings as to whether Blackwell's comments constituted prosecutorial misconduct that could result in a mistrial but said that he had dealt with all of Nelson's specific objections as he had made them.
As for the media attention, Cahill said he is hopeful that the jurors have heeded his warning against looking at any news coverage of the case before officially denying the mistrial motion.
How the Left repeatedly jeopardized Chauvin's trial: Biden and Rep Omar said the white cop was guilty before verdict was delivered despite judge warning Dems to STOP talking about case
Democrats repeatedly threatened to derail Chauvin's murder trial by ignoring Judge Cahill's orders to stop talking about it because their comments could influence the jury.
Chauvin's attorney Nelson asked Judge Cahill to delay the case and declare a mistrial multiple times due to remarks from liberal politicians who presumed the defendant's guilt and stoked fears of violence after the verdict.
Officials in Minneapolis drew the ire of the judge before the trial even began when they announced the city's $27million settlement with George Floyd's family in the middle of jury selection.
Cahill was considering a defense bid to delay the trial over concerns that the 'unfortunate' timing of the settlement announcement could taint the jurors' perception of the case when officials went against the judge's wishes and held a second press conference on the issue.
In a biting rebuke, Cahill demanded that the city, the prosecution and the defense 'stop talking about it' before ruling that the trial would proceed as schedule.
However he was forced to dismiss two already-seated jurors and several prospective jurors who admitted that their knowledge of the settlement could prevent them from being impartial.
As the trial neared its conclusion Congresswoman Maxine Waters enraged Cahill when she urged Black Lives Matter protesters to 'get more confrontational' if Chauvin is found not guilty.
Nelson cited Waters' comments in calling for a mistrial after the jury was sent out for deliberation on April 19.
Nelson said he believed the media frenzy around the case would undoubtedly bias the jury, adding: 'Now that we have US representatives threatening acts of violence in relation to this trial it's frankly mind-blowing.'
Judge Cahill called it 'abhorrent' that politicians ignored his warnings against speaking out the case and said Waters 'may have given [the defense] something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned'.
The judge ultimately denied Nelson's bid for a mistrial and the jury proceeded with deliberation.
President Joe Biden joined fellow Democrats in defying Cahill on April 20 when he called the evidence against Chauvin 'overwhelming' and said he hoped the jury would come to the 'right verdict'.
Rep Ilhan Omar followed President Biden's lead in speaking out hours before jurors delivered their verdict and called it a 'closed case' on Tuesday while they were still deliberating.
Nancy Pelosi THANKS George Floyd for 'sacrificing your life for justice' in bizarre statement after Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts
Speaker Nancy Pelosi bizarrely thanked George Floyd for 'sacrificing your life for justice' in remarks after Derek Chauvin was found guilty of three counts of murder and manslaughter.
'Thank God the jury validated what we saw,' Pelosi said at a press conference on Capitol Hill, referring to the video of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes.
'Thank you George Floyd for sacrificing your life for justice, for being there to call out to your mom,' she said.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi bizarrely thanked George Floyd for 'sacrificing your life for justice' in remarks after Derek Chauvin was found guilty
'Because of you and because of thousands, millions of people around the world who came out for justice, your name will always be synonymous with justice,' she added.
Pelosi said she spoke to the Floyd family Tuesday afternoon.
'Around three o'clock I spoke to the family, to say to them: thank you. God bless you for your grace and your dignity,' she said.
She made her comments surrounded by members of the Congressional Black Caucus. The lawmakers watched the verdict together in a room off the Capitol.
The speaker and other black lawmakers called for police reform, including the passage of The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
'This is the first step,' Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, the head of the Congressional Black Caucus, said of the verdict. 'Today we start to change the world.'
The legislation would prohibit choke holds and no-knock warrants at the federal level, limit them at the state and local level, and restrict the use of qualified immunity, a legal shield for police against civil suits.
Congress has limited power to regulate the police, most of whom fall under state jurisdiction.
TAKING THE STAND: WITNESSES IN DEREK CHAUVIN'S TRIAL
Below is a recap of all the witnesses who testified at Derek Chauvin's trial through April 16, in order of appearance.
PROSECUTION
911 dispatcher Jenna Scurry
The prosecution's first witness on March 29 was Jenna Scurry, a 911 dispatcher who watched live video of police kneeling on Floyd and testified that she called the officers' supervisor with concerns about their use of force.
It was Scurry who sent officers to the Cup Foods at 38th and Chicago Avenue on May 25, 2020, after receiving a call about a man using a counterfeit bill.
Scurry told how she had seen surveillance footage of the incident from one of the city's pole mounted cameras and been struck by a 'gut instinct' that 'something wasn't right'.
The video, which had not previously been released publicly, showed Chauvin and fellow officers Lane and Keung perched atop Floyd next to a squad car while officer Thao looked on.
Scurry noted that she wasn't watching the stream the entire time because she was fielding other calls. But she said that as she glanced away and back again, she was struck that the officers hadn't moved and asked a colleague if the screen had frozen.
'I first asked if the screens had frozen because it hadn't changed. I thought something might be wrong,' she said.
She said that she hadn't wanted to be a 'snitch' but she recognized what appeared to be use of force and stated: 'I took that instinct and I called the sergeant.'
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank played audio from the call, in which Scurry said: 'I don't know if they had to use force or not. They got something out of the back of the squad and all of them sat on this man. So I don't know if they needed to or not but they haven't said anything to me yet.'
'You can call me a snitch if you want to,' she added.
She said she made the call to 'voice my concerns' and noted that she had never made one like it to a police sergeant before.
Cross examining Scurry, Chauvin's attorney Eric Nelson was at pains to underscore gaps in what she saw and the facts that she had no police training, little knowledge of what the calls to which she sent officers actually looked like and pointed out that her attention was not trained on the screen at all times.
Bystander Alisha Oyler
Alisha Oyler, a cashier at the Speedway gas station opposite Cup Foods who recorded video of Floyd's arrest was the state's second witness.
'Trying not to cuss' and frequently failing to recall events Oyler explained that she had first noticed police 'messing with someone' outside the Dragon Wok restaurant opposite Cup Foods.
She said she had watched officers handcuff Floyd and take him across to the now infamous site of squad car 320 in front of the store's entrance and continued to record events on her cell phone as she stepped out to have a cigarette.
She said she had done so because the police were 'always messing with people and it's not right'.
MMA fighter and bystander Donald Williams
Donald Winn Williams II, a mixed martial arts fighter and the prosecution's third witness who had yelled at Chauvin to check for a pulse and accused him of placing Floyd in what he called a 'kill choke', testified first on March 29 before continuing on March 30.
Williams became emotional as he spoke about how he called 911 after Floyd was placed in an ambulance because: 'I believed I had just witnessed a murder. I felt the need to call the police on the police.'
He began to cry as jurors were played audio of the call, in which he named officer 987 and said: 'He just pretty much killed this guy. He wasn't resisting arrest. He had his knee on his neck. He wasn't resisting arrest or nothing, he was handcuffed.'
Williams said he witnessed Chauvin 'shimmying', or adjusting his position on Floyd's neck, in a recognized martial art maneuver designed to double-down on and tighten a choke hold.
He told how he watched Chauvin squeeze the life out of Floyd, who he said was in 'tremendous pain' and 'faded away like a fish in a bag'.
He said that when he called Chauvin out for using a blood choke the officer looked him straight in the eye and did not stop.
Williams also told how Officer Tou Thao put his hands on his chest and pushed him back to the curb when he tried to intervene.
At the end of his 911 call Williams was heard shouting at Thao: 'Y'all murderers man, y'all murderers.'
On cross-examination, Chauvin's attorney Eric Nelson attempted to undercut William's presentation of himself as a controlled and professional observer of events who remained schooled by his training and experience in sports and security.
Nelson appeared to be trying to provoke Williams into a display of anger as he repeatedly tried to discredit his claims to having remained calm.
'You started calling [Chauvin] names didn't you?' Nelson asked. 'You called him, 'a tough guy.' You called him 'such a man,' 'bogus.' You called him a 'bum' 13 times. You called him a 'bitch.''
But while Williams agreed to all of these assertions he would not be persuaded to agree to Nelson's characterization of him as 'angry' or threatening.
Asked if he had told Officer Tou Thao that he hoped he would shoot himself he said: 'No..I said you will shoot yourself in two years because of what you did.'
Bystander Darnella Frazier, 18
Darnella Frazier, who was 17 years old when she recorded the most famous viral video of Floyd's arrest last spring, took the stand on March 30 and told how she felt helpless as she watched him lose consciousness.
'There's been nights I've stayed up apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting, not saving his life,' Darnella, now 18, said. 'But it's not what I should have done - it's what [Chauvin] should have done.'
Darnella - who was not shown on camera in court because of her age - asserted that Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd's neck even harder as the growing crowd begged him to stop - and that he didn't remove his knee even when paramedics were searching for a pulse.
'I heard George Floyd saying: "I can't breathe, please get off of me." He cried for his mom and he was in pain,' Darnella said. 'It seemed like he knew it was over for him. He was terrified, he was suffering. This was a cry for help.'
When an ambulance arrived, Darnella said paramedics had to tell Chauvin to remove his knee from Floyd's neck.
Darnella said that she felt 'threatened' by both Chauvin and Thao who she said 'were quick to put their hands on their mace' when a woman who identified herself as a firefighter asked Chauvin to check for a pulse and she and Darnella made to move towards Floyd where he lay.
Asked if, at any point, Chauvin had 'got up or let up' she said: 'If anything he actually was kneeling harder. It looked like he was shoving his knee in his neck.'
At the close of her testimony Darnella broke down as she told jurors how witnessing and filming Floyd's death affected her life.
'When I look at George Floyd I look at my dad, I look my brothers, I look at my cousins, my uncles because they are all black,' she said. 'I have a black father, black brother, black friends and I look at that and I think how that could have been them.'
Bystander Judeah, nine
Nine-year-old witness Judeah, took the witness stand on March 29 and described how she and her cousin Darnella, who testified earlier, had gone to Cup Foods for snacks on May 25 when they found Floyd pinned to the ground by Chauvin and two other police officers.
The girl, who was not shown on camera due to her age, gave gut-wrenching testimony about how Chauvin refused to remove his knee from Floyd's neck even after paramedics arrived and 'asked him nicely to get off of him'.
'He [Chauvin] still stayed on him [Floyd],' Judeah said. She said the medics eventually 'just had to put him off, get him off of him.'
'I was sad and kind of mad. If felt like he was stopping his breathing and kind of hurting him,' Judeah said of Floyd.
Judeah is pictured second from the right in a green shirt in video from Floyd's fatal confrontation with police that was shown in court
Bystander Alyssa, 18
The prosecution's fourth witness on March 30 was an 18-year-old named Alyssa, who told how she had walked towards the incident and started recording on her friend's cell phone because she felt 'something was wrong'.
Alyssa broke down in tears as she described what of Floyd, saying: 'It's difficult [to talk about] because I felt like there wasn't anything I could do…and I felt like I was failing him, failing to do anything.'
Alyssa said that Chauvin did not move his knee even on the arrival of paramedics and in fact she saw him put more weight on Floyd's neck as the minutes ticked by.
'He [Chauvin] didn't really take his eyes off him [Floyd] for the most part. At one point I saw him put more and more weight onto him. I saw his back foot lift off the ground and his hands go in his pocket.'
'I saw him move his knee down more, make little movements,' she added.
The prosecution played the video recorded by Alyssa, in which she could be heard shouting: 'He's not moving. Check his pulse. Tell me his pulse right now. It's been over a minute [since he moved].'
She told the jury: 'I knew that time was running out. He was going to die.'
Finally she said, there came a point when 'I kind of knew that he was dead and not breathing, no longer fighting, no longer resisting.'
Bystander Kaylynn, 17
Alyssa's friend, 17-year-old Kaylynn, was the last minor to testify on March 30.
She said that it was the police officers who were 'hostile' not the crowd recalling how Chauvin was 'digging his knee into George Floyd's neck' and 'grabbed his mace and started shaking it at us' when onlookers shouted at him to check for a pulse.
'I was scared because I didn't know what was going to happen,' she said. Asked directly what she was scared of, she replied: 'I was scared of Chauvin.'
Off-duty firefighter Genevieve Hansen
Off-duty Minneapolis firefighter and paramedic Genevieve Hansen, 27, caused a stir in the courtroom on March 30 when she was admonished by Judge Cahill for repeatedly interrupting and talking back to Chauvin's attorney Nelson during cross examination.
Hansen had wiped away tears as she recalled how she had identified herself as a first responder and begged to help Floyd when she believed he was dying outside the Cup Foods store on May 25, 2020.
But soon after her demeanor changed as she was questioned by Nelson, who asked if she would describe bystanders at the scene of Floyd's arrest as upset or angry.
Hansen replied: 'I don't know if you've seen anybody be killed, but it's upsetting.'
At this point Judge Cahill stepped in and cautioned Hansen for being argumentative, telling her to 'just answer his questions'.
Minutes later Cahill sent the jury out for the day before turning to an increasingly combative Hansen and telling her in no uncertain terms: 'You will not argue with the court, you will not argue with counsel.'
Under direct examination, Hansen explained how her desperate pleas to be allowed to provide Floyd with life-saving medical assistance were ignored by the officers who pinned him down and blocked by officer Thao.
'I tried calm and reasoning, I pleaded and was desperate. I was desperate to help,' Hansen said.
Her calls fell on deaf ears as Chauvin remained unmoved and Officer Thao told her to remain on the curb, at one point saying: 'If you really are a Minneapolis firefighter you would know better than to get involved.'
In court Hansen said: 'That's exactly what I should have done. There was no medical assistance on the scene and I could have given [it].'
'The officers were leaning over his body with what appeared to be the majority of their weight on him,' she said. 'He wasn't moving, he was cuffed and three grown men putting all their weight on somebody – that's too much.
'Chauvin seemed very comfortable with the majority of his weight balanced on top of Mr Floyd's neck. In my memory he had his hand in his pocket. He wasn't distributing the weight on the car, on the pavement.'
Hansen said that she had assessed that Floyd had a 'altered level of consciousness,' that concerned her greatly.
She said that his face was 'smooshed' into the pavement and said: 'I was really concerned. I thought his face looked puffy and swollen which would happen if you were putting a grown man's weight [on him].
'I noticed some fluid coming from what looked like George Floyd's body and a lot of time we see a patient release their bladder when they die - that's where my mind went. He was restrained but he wasn't moving.'
Hansen said she recognized that Floyd was unconscious because he was not responding to the 'painful stimulae' of Chauvin's knee on his neck.
'What I needed to know was whether or not he had a pulse anymore,' she said. But she said she was not permitted access to the scene and the officers ignored her offers to talk them through CPR.
She said she felt 'helpless.' 'There's a man being killed,' she said, 'and had I had access I would have [helped]. This human was denied that right.'
Before she took the stand jury saw video she had recorded on the scene and heard audio of the 911 call she placed immediately after.
Her voice trembling with shock and emotion she could be heard telling the operator: 'I literally just watched police officers not take a pulse and not to do anything to save a man and I am a first responder myself and I literally have it on video.'
In an uncomfortable cross-examination, Hansen refused to be drawn into an admission that she would be distracted from her job if a threatening crowd were gathered telling her she was 'doing it wrong'.
Time after time Nelson attempted to get an admission out of her until she said: 'I think a burning structure where there are buildings and homes and people living on either side is much more concerning than 20 people.
'I'll repeat myself, I know my job, I'm confident in doing my job and there's nothing anybody can do to disturb me.'
When he asked if she had grown angry, she said she had been 'desperate' before admitting: 'I got quite angry after Mr Floyd was loaded into the ambulance and there was no point in trying to reason with them anymore because they had just killed somebody.'
Cup Foods employee Christopher Martin
Cup Foods clerk Christopher Martin testified on March 31 about how his coworker called the cops on Floyd because he believed he used a counterfeit $20 bill on May 25.
Looking back, Martin said he wished he'd never raised alarm about the bill because he believes Floyd might still be alive if he hadn't, telling the court: 'This could have been avoided.'
Martin told the court that he became suspicious of the bill because it had an unusual 'blue pigment so I assumed it was fake'.
'The policy was if you took a counterfeit bill you had to pay for it out of your pay-check,' Martin explained. 'I took it anyways and was planning to just put it on my tab - until I second guessed myself and eventually told my manager.'
The manager then instructed Martin to go outside and bring Floyd back, he said. When Floyd refused, a co-worker called police. One of the responding officers was Chauvin.
Martin said that the two things he noticed about Floyd were his 'size' and he appeared to be 'high'.
However he said that he did not find Floyd's demeanor to be threatening, saying: 'He seemed very friendly, approachable, talkative, he seemed just to be having an average Memorial Day living his life. But he did seem high.'
Martin said he went back to manning the cash register when police arrived but soon after noticed a commotion at the front of Cup Foods and went outside, where he saw Floyd pinned to the ground.
'I saw people yelling and screaming I saw Derek [Chauvin] with his knee on George's neck on the ground,' he said.
'George was motionless, limp and Chauvin seemed very…he was in a resting state, meaning like he just rested his knee on his neck.'
Martin, who lived above the store, said: 'I pulled my phone out first and called my mom and told her not to come downstairs. Then I started recording.
'Later on that night I deleted it because when they picked George up off the ground the ambulance went straight down 38th and the quickest way to get to the hospital is straight down Chicago Avenue.'
Martin said he assumed from this that Floyd was already dead and deleted his recording as he didn't want to have to show it to anybody or answer questions about it in the aftermath.
Asked how he had felt as he absorbed what he had just witnessed, Martin said 'disbelief and guilt'.
Martin, who had earlier told jurors that he had almost not reported the fake bill and only done so after second-guessing himself, said: 'If I would have just not taken the bill this could have been avoided.'
Asked if he still worked at Cup Foods, Martin's voice cracked as he said: 'No. I didn't feel safe.'
Bystander Christopher Belfrey, 45
Christopher Belfrey testified on March 31 about video he recorded when he drove past Cup Foods and say officers Lane and Keung approaching Floyd in his car.
Belfrey, 45, said he started recording when parked directly behind Floyd's SUV because he was 'startled' to see Lane draw his handgun.
He explained that he pulled to the other side of the street, not wanting to 'get in the middle' of whatever was occurring and continued recording.
The court watched the footage in which Floyd can be seen, apparently cuffed and compliant, seated against a wall having been removed from his vehicle. According to Belfrey, Lane and Keung then walked Floyd across to their squad car and put him in it.
Belfrey said that he had simply gone home at that point because 'I thought he was detained. I thought it was over.'
Bystander Charles McMillian, 61
Charles McMillian, who was the first person to confront police about their treatment of Floyd on the day of his fatal arrest, broke down in tears as the prosecution played footage of cops wrestling with the handcuffed black man.
McMillian, 61, said he was driving by the Cup Foods convenience store when he noticed officers struggling with Floyd and pulled over simply because he was 'being nosy'.
In footage from Lane's body camera McMillian was heard calling out as cops grappled with Floyd in their squad car.
McMillian said he 'tried to make the situation easy,' by telling Floyd: 'You can't win.'
Floyd could be heard telling McMillian: 'I'm not trying to win. Don't do me like that, I'm claustrophobic.'
As he described how Floyd began to cry out for his mother minutes later while pinned to the ground by the officers, McMillian wept as he revealed that he understood how Floyd felt after losing his own mom.
'I couldn't help but feel helpless. I don't have a mama either, but I understand him. My mom died June 25th,' the witness said through tears.
He revealed that he had experience of being handcuffed himself and as Floyd became more agitated, having been apparently calm as he was walked towards officers Lane and Keung's squad car, McMillian said he tried to help.
The court played footage of the events as McMillian described them. One clip of McMillian on the sidewalk was spliced with body camera footage of Floyd in the squad car.
'I'm watching, you know, Mr Floyd,' McMillian said. 'He collapsed onto the back seat and I'm trying to get him to understand when you make a mistake, once they get you in cuffs you got to wait there. Once they get you in cuffs you can't win.'
McMillian then described how he continued to try to help Floyd after officers Lane, Keung and Chauvin had pinned him to the ground.
'[Floyd] kept saying: 'I can't breathe. Mama they're killing me, they're killing me.' He started saying: 'My body's shutting down.''
As more of the video was played McMillian's voice could be heard urging Floyd: 'Get up and get into the car. Get up and get into the car man.'
Floyd responded: 'I can't.'
Later McMillian could be heard telling Chauvin: 'Your knee on his neck, that's wrong man.'
Of his own part in the scene, McMillian said: 'I was trying to help him. He appeared to be in and out [of consciousness], with foam around his mouth. I said: 'Man he said he can't breathe,' and they said: 'Well if he keeps talking he can breathe.''
The jury was shown body-cam footage in which McMillian told Chauvin: 'I don't respect what you did.' The officer replied: 'Well that's one person's opinion. We got to control this guy because he's a sizeable guy and looks like he's probably on something.'
Minneapolis Police Lt Jeff Rugel
Lt Jeff Rugel, who runs the Minneapolis Police Department's Business Technology Unit, testified on March 31 to authenticate officers' body camera footage and other video evidence from the scene.
Brief footage from Chauvin's camera was played, revealing his perspective as he approached Floyd for the first time.
Chauvin was seen with his hands around Floyd's neck as he and Officer Thomas Lane struggled with to get him into a squad car.
After a chaotic, blurred portion of footage, Chauvin's camera fell to the tarmac and there was no more footage from his perspective.
In footage recorded by Lane's body camera, Chauvin's camera could be seen lying beneath the squad car. It's unclear exactly how the camera came to be on the ground during the confrontation.
Rugel told the jury how that Minneapolis police policy demands that officers wear their cameras at all times and to activate them during any activity or public interaction.
Asked if Chauvin wore a body camera and if that was 'the box on the floor [beneath squad car 320]', Rugel said: 'Yes.'
George Floyd's girlfriend Courteney Ross
Courteney Ross broke down in tears within minutes of taking the stand on Thursday as she described how she and Floyd first met in 2017 at the Salvation Army's Harbor Light Center, a shelter where he was working as a security guard and she was visiting her son's father.
The married mother-of-two said she was touched when Floyd asked to pray with her because she was going through a hard time in her own life - and they kissed in the lobby that same day.
Ross - who wore a gold necklace with her late boyfriend's name - began crying even harder when Frank pulled up a photo of Floyd.
Then she laughed as she called the photo a 'dad selfie', before telling how hard it was for Floyd to be so far away from his two daughters, who lived in Texas.
She described the man who had called out for his mother in his dying moments as 'a mama's boy' who was 'devastated' and 'broken' by her death in May 2018.
'He seemed like a shell of himself like he was broken, he seemed so sad,' she said. 'He didn't have the same kind of bounce that he had.'
Ross was then asked to tackle head on the issue of drug abuse with which, she admitted, both she and Floyd struggled.
She said that they were both addicted to opioids having been prescribed them for chronic pain - including oxycodone, which he took in pill form, obtaining it through other people's prescriptions to make sure the pills were safe.
'Both Floyd and I, our story — it's a classic story of how many people get addicted to opioids. We both suffered from chronic pain. Mine was in my neck and his was in his back.
'We both have prescriptions. But after prescriptions that were filled, and we got addicted, and tried really hard to break that addiction many times.'
Though he tried to get clean, she said it was something that he struggled with 'every day'.
In March 2020, she said, she noticed 'behavioral changes' that made her suspect that Floyd was using again, or more, and that she too fell into heavier use at that time.
On cross examination by Chauvin's attorney Eric Nelson, Ross revealed that that she and Floyd both purchased opioids from Morries Lester Hall, a friend who was in the passenger seat of Floyd's car on the day he died.
Jurors heard that Hall sold controlled substances to both her and Floyd and that she 'did not like Morries at all'.
Ross told the court how, in March 2020, just two months before Floyd's death, he purchased pills that she did not recognize as the opioids to which both she and Floyd were addicted.
She said the pills, which she believes landed Floyd in the hospital due to an accidental overdose, appeared 'thick' and were not uniform, and that when she took them they did not have the same effect as opioids.
'The pill seemed like it was a really strong stimulant. I couldn't sleep all night. I felt very jittery,' Hall said.
Ross also revealed that Floyd had been hospitalized twice in March – on one occasion due to a drug overdose that saw him hospitalized for five days.
Paramedics Seth Bravinder and Derek Smith
Paramedics Seth Bravinder and Derek Smith testified on Thursday as the jury was shown shocking new images of EMTs loading Floyd into an ambulance and attempting to resuscitate him.
Bravinder and Smith were asked by the prosecution to explain what was happening in graphic video and stills of Floyd being placed on a stretcher and treated in the ambulance.
Some of the images came from video recorded by witnesses on the scene, while others came from the body camera of officer Thomas Lane, who rode with Floyd to the hospital.
Asked to describe Floyd's condition, Smith said: 'In lay terms, I thought he was dead,' as the prosecution showed a screengrab of him checking for Floyd's pulse.
Video showed Smith gesturing to Chauvin to remove his knee from Floyd's neck so they could put his limp body on a stretcher.
In images shown during Smith's testimony, Floyd was seen slumped, and with his mouth bloodied as Smith said he did not have an obvious physical injury that would explain his dire condition.
Smith told the court that Floyd's pupils were 'large and dilated'.
Bravinder was asked during his testimony what a medic would expect to see in the eyes of a patient who had suffered an opioid overdose. 'We look to see if their pupils are really small, constricted, pinpoint,' he said.
But when Nelson countered, asking what methamphetamine – one of the substances found in Floyd's blood - does to the pupils, Bravinder said: 'It dilates them.'
Smith told the court that he detected a flicker of electrical activity in Floyd's heart as they sped to the Hennepin County Medical Center and administered a shock in hopes of restarting a pulse. But, he said, Floyd remained 'in his dead state'.
Both Bravinder and Smith testified that they wanted to get Floyd into the ambulance quickly because he was in cardiac arrest.
Bravinder added: 'On top of that there was also a crowd of people who were yelling and in my mind we had to get away from that because running a cardiac arrest takes lot of mental power, can be taxing and we want to do that in the optimum environment …to be in a controlled space.'
Bravinder said he stopped the ambulance en route to the hospital and went into the back to assist his partner when Floyd's cardiac monitor was showing 'asystole' - the medical term for 'flat-lined'.
'It's not a good sign,' Bravinder said. 'Basically just because your heart isn't doing anything at that moment. There's not — it's not pumping blood. So it's not — it's not a good sign for a good outcome.'
Asked if it was important to start resuscitation efforts as soon as a pulse was lost, Bravinder said: 'Yes, as soon as possible.'
'The longer a patient goes without receiving resuscitation the less likely it is that resuscitation will be successful.'
Cross-examined by Nelson, Bravinder confirmed he had personally been called out to emergencies involving drug overdoses and that police were called to such cases as a matter of course.
Nelson asked: 'Is that because sometimes when people are treated for an overdose and they come round they become aggressive and violent?'
Bravinder responded: 'Yes.'
Minneapolis Fire Department Captain Jeremy Norton
Minneapolis Fire Department Captain Jeremy Norton testified on April 1 about the initial confusion that saw their fire rig arrive at Cup Foods to assist paramedics only to find that the ambulance had pulled off the scene and was treating Floyd a few blocks away.
He explained that they had received very little information beyond receiving a call out to Cup Foods which was elevated from code 2 (non-emergent), to code 3, (lights and sirens en route).
According to Norton the only information he had was that the patient had sustained 'a mouth injury'.
On arrival at the store Norton found 'people upset' and searched for a patient.
Norton said: 'I was looking for a patient. The call was confusing because I didn't have a lot of information so was essentially looking on the floor for someone.'
The fire rig ultimately joined the ambulance crew at 36th and Park Avenue, two blocks away.
By the time he saw Floyd he was, he said: 'Face up on the stretcher. He had an advance airway in an he had the Lucas compression device in place and working.'
Norton cleared Lane out of the ambulance and took over attempts to resuscitate Floyd who was, he said, 'to all intents and purposes dead'.
Minneapolis Police Department Sergeant David Pleoger
David Pleoger, who recently retired as a sergeant with the Minneapolis Police Department and was Chauvin's supervisor, testified on April 1.
The jury heard new audio of Chauvin speaking with Pleoger moments after Floyd's death, saying: 'I was just going to call you come out to our scene we had to hold a guy down he was going crazy, wouldn't go in the back of the squad.'
Pleoger said that Chauvin did not tell him that he had applied his knee to Floyd's neck or that he had held him down for any length of time.
'I believe he told me he'd become combative he mentioned he'd injured either his nose of his mouth and eventually having struggled with him,' Pleoger recalled. 'He said he'd suffered a medical emergency and an ambulance was called.'
As supervising shift sergeant, Pleoger was tasked with investigating any use of force incidents that occurred during his shift – 3pm to 1am.
Describing the call he'd received from 911 dispatcher Jenna Scurry, Pleoger said: 'She called to say she didn't want to be a snitch but she had seen something while viewing a camera that she thought was concerning.'
Pleoger had not received a call from Chauvin at that time and initially told Scurry that what she saw 'might not count'.
According to Minneapolis Police Department policy officers are required to report use of force incidents under certain circumstances but not if it is a 'take down', which Pleoger – who had not been called by any of the officers on the scene - initially assumed was the case.
The jury was shown footage from Pleoger's body camera in which officers Chauvin, Thao, Keung and Lane could be standing near the site of where they took down Floyd.
Pleoger instructed Chauvin to identify and speak with witnesses, to which the officer replied: 'We can try but they're pretty hostile.'
Additional video showed Pleoger arriving at the hospital where Floyd was pronounced dead, in which Chauvin appeared to be wringing his hands.
Asked if he had an opinion as to when Chauvin's restraint should have ended, Pleoger responded: 'Yes [it should have ended] when Mr Floyd was no longer offering up any resistance.'
MPD Sergeant Jon Edwards
Sgt. Jon Edwards, who was called to secure the scene in the aftermath, testified that two of the officers involved were still at the site when he arrived and that he was ordered to remove the crime scene tape just hours after his death was confirmed.
Edwards said he encountered Lane and Keung at the scene when he arrived and he instructed them to turn on their body cameras.
Edwards said: 'I asked them to chill out because I knew from Sergeant Pleoger that he had a couple of escort sergeants coming down to transport them to interview room 100.'
Edwards told jurors that at approximately 10.13pm news came through that Floyd had died and the situation was confirmed as a critical incident. By then homicide was on the scene and Lane and Keung were transported to City Hall to be interviewed.
Edwards testified that he was then ordered to remove the crime scene tape he had earlier put up at about 3.30am.
MPD Lt Richard Zimmerman
Richard Zimmerman, the head of the Minneapolis Police Department's homicide division, told jurors that Chauvin's use of force in arresting Floyd was 'totally unnecessary' because a handcuffed person doesn't pose a threat and kneeling on someone's neck can 'kill them'.
Zimmerman, who responded to the crime scene after Floyd's deadly arrest, testified that he had watched multiple videos showing the moment the officer knelt on the black man's neck after handcuffing him.
Having watched the videos, Zimmerman was clear: 'Pulling him down to the ground face down and putting your knee on his neck for that amount of time is just uncalled for.'
He added that once Floyd was handcuffed, he saw 'no reason why the officers felt they were in danger and that's what they would have to feel to use that level of force.'
Zimmerman told jurors that kneeling on the neck of someone who is handcuffed and in the prone position is 'top-tier, deadly' force and should not be used. 'If your knee is on a person's neck, that can kill him,' he said.
Asked by prosecutors whether a handcuffed person was a reduced threat, Zimmerman said: 'Once a person is cuffed, the threat level goes down all the way. They are cuffed, how can they really hurt you.
'You getting injured is way down. You could have some guy try to kick you or something, but you can move out of the way. That person is handcuffed, you know, so the threat level is just not there.'
Zimmerman, who is trained every year in the use of force, told jurors he had never been trained to 'kneel on the neck of somebody who's cuffed and in the prone position'.
'Once you secure or handcuff a person you need to get them out of the prone position as soon as possible because it restricts their breathing,' he said, adding that having your hands cuffed behind your back 'stretches the muscles back through your chest and makes it more difficult to breathe'.
Dr Bradford Langenfeld
Dr Bradford Langenfeld, the medic at the Hennepin County Medical Center who pronounced Floyd dead, told jurors on April 5 that he believed the cause of death last May 25 was asphyxia.
He told the court, 'Any amount of time that a patient spends in cardiac arrest without CPR markedly decreases the chances of survival' before explaining that those chances dropped by 10 to 15 percent with each passing minute.
There was nothing in the paramedics' reports, he said, to suggest that they were concerned that Floyd had either suffered a heart attack or drug overdose.
Dr Langenfeld also told how paramedics had fought to revive Floyd for 30 minutes by the time he arrived in his ward but that despite their efforts he was in cardiac arrest and save for occasional Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA) – activity in the heart not strong enough to establish a pulse – he flat-lined.
The medic could not recall whether or not Floyd was still cuffed on arrival but he did remember seeing indentations from the handcuffs on his wrists.
Dr Langenfeld said he had considered a host of possible causes for Floyd's cardiac arrest and concluded that hypoxia – oxygen deficiency or asphyxia– was most likely, he said 'based on the information that I had.'
He declared Floyd dead after 30 minutes in the hospital, by which time he had been without a pulse for close to an hour.
Speaking softly and soberly he recalled, 'In the absence of any apparent reversable cause, [I felt that] the likelihood of any meaningful outcome was far below 1 percent and we would not be able to resuscitate Mr Floyd, so I then pronounced him dead.'
The court also heard from Dr. Bradford Langenfeld Monday, pictured, the medic at the Hennepin County Medical Center who pronounced Floyd dead
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo told jurors that Chauvin 'absolutely did not' follow police policy on de-escalation or use of force when he pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds.
In explosive testimony on April 5, Arradondo said Chauvin's use of force 'absolutely' violated the department's policy and belief in 'the sanctity of life,' and that the pressure he used was contrary to all departmental teachings.
He said: 'Once Mr Floyd had stopped resisting and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that, that should have stopped.
'Once there was no longer any resistance and clearly when Mr Floyd was no longer responsive and even motionless to continue to apply that level of force to a person proned out, handcuffed behind their back that in no way shape or form is by policy, part of our training, certainly not part of our ethics or values.'
Shown a still image taken from the bystander video Arradondo said: 'When I look at the facial expression of Mr Floyd that does not appear in any way shape or form that that is ight to moderate pressure [as per policy].
'That action is not de-escalation and when we talk about the framework of our sanctity of life and principals and values that we have that action goes contrary.'
Arradondo, Minneapolis's first black police chief, also told the court that he agreed the Chauvin had violated policy by failing to provide any medical aid to the clearly suffering Floyd. He fired Chauvin and three other officers the day after Mr Floyd's death on May 25 last year and in June called it 'murder'.
As well as his clear condemnation of the actions he described as violating policy, Arradondo told the court that Floyd's alleged crime - passing a fake $20 bill at Cup Foods store - did not rise to the level of violent crime that demanded use of force or a custodial arrest.
Inspector Katie Blackwell
Inspector Katie Blackwell, former commander of the Minneapolis police department's training division, took the stand on April 5.
She said that she has known Chauvin for close to twenty years having first served as a community officer with him. And she herself appointed Chauvin, who was by far the most senior officer on the scene May 25, to the role of Field Training Officer, responsible for training and mentoring new recruits.
But when shown an image of Chauvin, with his knee on Floyd's neck, Blackwell was damning. She said, 'I don't know what kind of improvised position that is.'
According to Blackwell officers are taught to use one or two arms, not knees, for neck restraints and to constantly reassess the situation.
She also said that 'positional asphyxia' was a concept known to her for as long as she had been an officer – roughly the same period of time that Chauvin has served.
She echoed testimony already heard by the jury regarding the dangers of keeping a person in the prone position – one in which they are not able to adequately breath.
For that reason, she said, officers are taught to put suspects on their side, in the side-recovery position or sitting upright 'as soon as is possible.'
MPD Inspector Katie Blackwell also gave evidence Monday. She told jurors about the training officers recieve
Ker Wang, Crisis Training Coordinator
On April 6 the court heard from Sergeant Ker Wang, 49, Crisis Training Coordinator with the MPD and the man who wrote significant portions of that training.
He said that he recognized Chauvin's name, not because he knew him personally, but from training.
The court heard that Chauvin took part in a 40-hour crisis training course in 2018 – though this was not a course in which Wang had personally instructed him.
Wang described a 'crisis' as anything that took an individual 'beyond their coping mechanisms' and said that the primary goal of any intervention was to 'de-escalate' and restore the situation to a pre-crisis level.
Steve Schleicher asked Wang to talk the jury through the Critical Decision Making Model – a graphic of five spheres around a central sphere.
Wang, who introduced the model to MPD training in 2018, explained how the outer spheres which contained the topic headings: Information Gathering, Threat/Risk Assessment, Authority to Act, Goals and Actions, Review & Re-Assess linked to the 'key pillars of procedural justice' expressed in the centre 'Voice Neutrality Respect Trust.'
The model could be read and enacted in any direction, as officers respond to crisis in a state of flux and constant reassessment.
He said that every officer could apply this model, 'like memory' and in doing so 'can slow down time,' in a crisis situation.
He said, 'I believe in this model because it works.'
When Nelson cross-examined the witness he sought to widen the focus from Chauvin's assessment of and actions towards Floyd to take in the context of the crowd – the part that they played in events and the extent to which their understanding of them was limited.
He pointed out that an officer had to consider 'the totality of the circumstances,' which 'is more than just how you react to the person being arrested.'
Wang agreed with Nelson's statement that this included, 'citizen bystanders, what to do when a citizen bystander starts filming you, how to identify when a citizen constitutes a risk.'
The model was, Nelson asserted, 'a very dynamic, ever-changing thing based on the information that comes to the officers in real time.'
Much of that may be invisible to the onlookers, he said – such as tactical thinking, knowing that medical help is on the way, considering officer safety.
Nelson then steered toward a presentation of Chauvin's conduct and appearance as textbook.
Referencing training he said, 'An officer should appear confident, they should be able to try to stay calm, they should try speak slowly and softly, they should avoid staring or eye-contact…' Wang agreed.
They should, he said, in all respects attempt to 'create time and distance.,' acting only when it was 'safe and feasible' to do so.
Lieutenant Johnny Mercil
Minneapolis Police Department's use of force expert and the man in charge of officer training told jurors on April 6 that Chauvin's knee on Floyd's neck is not, and never has been, an MPD trained neck restraint.
Asked by prosecutor Steve Schleicher if such a level of restraint would be authorized when a subject is handcuffed Lieutenant Johnny Mercil replied, 'I would say no.'
Mercil also told the court that officers were taught to use the minimum amount of force needed to detain someone.
Asked about leg neck restraints Mercil explained that, while not taught to officers, they were something that might be shown to young cadets. But they would not look like the restraint carried out by Chauvin on May 25.
As Schleicher walked him through the training and concepts in MPD's Use of Force Mercil told the court that officers are not taught to use leg neck restraints and never have been.
Mercil was responding to a picture of Chauvin with his knee pressed into Floyd's neck shown to him in court.
According to Mercil officers are taught how to deliver conscious and unconscious neck restraints with their arms and only under very limited circumstances when the level of resistance and threat would make such a measure proportional.
MPD medical support coordinator Nicole MacKenzie
Nicole MacKenzie, Minneapolis police medical support coordinator, testified that it is 'very difficult to focus on a patient if you don't feel safe', arguing a noisy crowd could have made it hard for officers to hear Floyd struggling to breathe.
She told jurors on April 6 that treating a person under the eyes of a noisy crowd was 'incredibly difficult.'
MacKenzie said: 'It might sound wrong but bystanders do sometimes attack EMS crews so sometimes just getting out of the situation is the best way to diffuse it.'
'It's incredibly difficult [to treat under those circumstances] because you're trying to be heads down on a patient [but] it's very difficult to focus on the patient if you don't feel safe around you.'
MacKenzie also said Floyd could have displayed 'super-human strength' due do 'Excited Delirium' brought on by the consumption of the illicit drug speedball.
Explaining this potential side-effect of taking the illicit drug MacKenzie said, 'The person might be experiencing elevated body temperature, the heart rate might be extremely elevated and insensitive to pain. Because you don't really have that pain/compliance edge that would normally control somebody's behavior.
'Somebody experiencing this might have what we would call super-human strength, lifting things they wouldn't normally be able to lift, breaking things.'
One of other officers at the scene, Thomas Lane, said he was 'worried about excited delirium' and suggesting rolling Floyd on his side.
The prosecution established that Chauvin had undergone training in CPR and AED as well as other first aid before MacKenzie told the jury that trained officers must provide medical aid when necessary.
It was not enough, she said, for an officer to simply call for an ambulance and wait when in a 'critical situation'.
She talked the jury through the basic steps in which officers are trained to establish responsiveness and – if no response is forthcoming – to check for breathing and a pulse before commencing chest compressions.
Asked if it was true to say that if a person can talk they can breathe, MacKenzie said, 'No sir, somebody can be in respiratory distress and still be able to verbalize it.'
But under cross-examination MacKenzie agreed that the policies on rendering emergency medical aid were 'somewhat qualified or contingent on what was going on at the scene at the time.'
Put simply the scene had to be safe, she accepted, before an officer should turn their attentions to first aid or CPR.
Nelson focused again on the scene. Painting the picture of a busy road and volatile, vocal crowd he asked if it would be possible for an officer to confuse the gasps of 'agonal' ineffective 'breathing' with effective breathing and if this mistake would be more likely, 'when there's a lot of noise and commotion.'
MacKenzie agreed on both points.
Use-of-force expert Jody Stiger
Derek Chauvin's use of force was 'excessive', according to Jody Stiger, a Los Angeles police sergeant who gave testimony as the state's use-of-force expert on April 6.
Stiger told the court that he has served in some of the most dangerous places and some of the most dangerous beats – Skid Row, gangs, narcotics – both in uniform and undercover and on LAPD's Use of Force Board, as a peer reviewer of high profile uses of force.
Stiger was also a tactics instructor of six years and has travelled nationally in his capacity as an aid to the Inspector General – an independent oversight entity in LAPD – consulting with police forces across the country to establish consistent standards and training nationwide.
He has conducted 2500 use of force reviews including use of deadly force.
Stiger told the jury that he had reviewed all of the state's materials– body-worn cameras, cell and pole-camera video footage, reports and MPD manuals and training materials. He told the court that he also took into consideration legal standards, the level of the offense and the person's actions.
Asked about Floyd's crime – attempting to pass a fake $20 bill – he said, 'Typically you wouldn't even expect to use any force.'
He said officers were initially justified in their use of force because Floyd was 'actively resisting' but said 'once he was placed in the prone position on the ground he slowly ceased his resistance and at that point the ex-officers should have slowed down or backed off their force as well.'
Instead, he noted, 'They continued the force that they were utilizing from the time when they put him on the ground.'
Stiger told the court that the officers could have continued trying to talk to Floyd and noted that Keung had already established some sort of rapport.
But despite this he said that they had not behaved unreasonably in their efforts to get a struggling Floyd into the back of the squad car.
He recalled, 'Mr Floyd was actively resisting moving around clearly, trying to get out. He didn't want to be there and the officers were initially trying to place him in the back seat, grabbing the seat belt and things of that nature and eventually the decision was made to remove him from the vehicle.'
He said, 'They were pulling him from the driver side, passenger door – the street side – pulling on his legs and his arms and once they got him out he kind of went on his knees.
'He was saying he couldn't breathe, saying he was claustrophobic. Numerous times he stated he was afraid, he had had covid and couldn't breathe and he had anxiety and was claustrophobic.'
Jody Stiger, 50, who gave testimony as the state's Use of Force expert, said Chauvin's use of force was 'excessive'
Senior Special Agent James Reyerson, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension officer
James Reyerson, the lead investigator in Derek Chauvin's murder case on April 7 reversed his testimony regarding George Floyd's declaration, 'I ate too many drugs', later clarifying he heard: 'I ain't doing no drugs'.
Defense attorney Eric Nelson had played the clip to the court from one of the officer's body-worn cameras at the scene last May 25.
Asked if he recalled hearing that Reyerson said no he did not.
After the segment was played in court, when asked again if he had heard it he said, 'Yes I did.'
But in a stunning about face, when recalled by the prosecution and played a longer portion of the bodycam footage, Reyerson said that he now believed Floyd to be saying, 'I ain't doing no drugs.'
Reyerson told the jury both the patrol car Floyd was pulled out of and the car he was in were processed on May 27, two days after Floyd's death, then again in December 2020 when the prosecution requested a search of the Blue Mercedes SUV before the defense asked to see squad 320 in January.
It was at that time a half- chewed speedball pill was found bearing Floyd's DNA and saliva.
BCA forensic scientist and Lead Crime Scene Investigator McKenzie Anderson
BCA forensic scientist and Lead Crime Scene Investigator McKenzie Anderson told the jury on April 7 how she had found a crumpled and open packet of Suboxone – a medication given to adults with an opioid addiction – in the driver's seat footwell of the Mercedes Floyd had arrived in, as well as an unopened packet on the seat.
She also told them about two round white pills found in the center console of the car. Jurors were shown pictures of all of these findings.
Anderson and her colleagues had not found the pills or containers on an initial search of the Mercedes on May 27 when she photographed the interior and searched with little sense of what she might be looking for.
The car was searched again on the request of the Attorney General's office December 9 when the pills and $20 bills stuffed between the passenger seat and center consol.
Anderson told jurors that she 'didn't give any forensic significance' to the small white pill clearly visible on the floor on the passenger side of the vehicle's back seat in the first set of pictures.
She explained that she had been looking for blood or something to do with fake bills.
The potential significance was immediately spotted by the defense who requested a second search of the car having seen the half-chewed pill in pictures.
On a second search Anderson found the white pill as well as several other small irregular shaped white objects that could, she said, have been parts of a pill.
There were no visible markings on either the pill or the fragments, all of which, she said had a rough texture and irregular shape.
There was one fragment, stuck to the back seat and reddish-brown in color, that, she said, seemed 'consistent with the other pieces,' except for the color difference.
Forensic testing found Floyd's DNA in saliva left on the half-chewed pill which was found to be a 'speedball' or compound of methamphetamine and fentanyl when sent to drug chemistry division.
Forensic scientist Breahna Giles
BCA's Breahna Giles was the forensic scientist tasked with analyzing the glass pipe and pills found in the Mercedes.
On April 7 she testified that she found traces of THC – the psychoactive component found in marijuana – in residue scraped from the pipe and determined the pills, which had pharmaceutical markings, to be a compound of Oxycodone and Acetaminophen.
She also tested the tablet and fragments found in the back of squad 320 and found the partial white pill to be methamphetamine as well as identifying methamphetamine in the fragments found.
Under cross-examination Giles said that there was the presence of other substances but not enough to make a positive determination of its nature.
Asked by Nelson, 'But that was fentanyl?' she said she could neither confirm nor deny its presence. Eleven nanograms of Fentanyl was found in Floyd's bloodstream.
BCA's Breahna Giles was the forensic scientist tasked with analyzing the glass pipe and pills found in the Mercedes. She found traces of THC – the psychoactive component found in marijuana – in residue scraped from the pipe and determined the pills, which had pharmaceutical markings, to be a compound of Oxycodone and Acetamenophin
Forensic chemist Susan Neith
Forensic chemist Susan Neith was the last witness on April 7. She also tested the pills from both vehicles and told the jury that she found trace levels of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the pills taken from the back of the squad car.
She put the levels of fentanyl at less than 1 percent the amount she said she would expect to find in street fentanyl. But put the levels of methamphetamine at between 1 and 2.9percent which she said was much lower in her experience than that found in street drugs which she would expect to come in at 80 to 90 percent.
Forensic chemist Susan Neith was the last witness of the day. She also tested the pills from both vehicles and told the jury that she found trace levels of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the pills taken from the back of the squad car
Pulmonology expert Dr Martin Tobin
Dr Martin Tobin, a specialist at the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital and Loyola University's medical school in Chicago, testified he believed Floyd's cause of death was due to a lack of oxygen that damaged his brain and caused his heart to stop.
During his hours-long testimony on April 8, he said there were several factors that he said made it difficult for Floyd to breathe, beyond Chauvin's knee on his neck: Officers lifting up on his handcuffs, the hard street, lying face down, his turned head and a knee on his back.
'A healthy person subjected to what Mr. Floyd was subjected to would have died as a result of what he was subjected to,' Dr Tobin said.
Tobin, analyzing a graphic presentation of the three officers holding down Floyd for what prosecutors say was almost 9 1/2 minutes, testified that Chauvin's knee was 'virtually on the neck' for more than 90% of the time by his estimate.
Chauvin also kept his knee on Floyd's neck for 3.02 minutes after Floyd had 'reached the point where there was not one ounce of oxygen left in the body,' Tobin said.
When asked if Dr Tobin, based on his medical expertise, had determined a cause of death for Floyd after viewing videos from the scene, he said: 'Mr Floyd died from a low level of oxygen... The cause of low level of oxygen was shallow breathing. Small breaths that weren't able to carry the air through his lungs.
'He was being squashed between the two sides,' Dr Tobin said as he described the position Floyd was in lying face down on the ground with the officers pinning him down.
Dr Tobin told the court that the impact of the pressure of the officers and handcuffs rendered movement so impossible that Floyd's left lung was greatly affected.
'When you breathe you use your diaphragm, next thing you recruit is the big muscles in the neck, when those are wasted up then you're relying on these kinds of muscles to get air into the right side.'
Elsewhere in his testimony, Dr Tobin said he'd calculated that Floyd's lung capacity was reduced by 43 percent when Chauvin was pinning him down.
Forensic toxicologist Dr Daniel Isenschmid
Dr Daniel Isenschmid took the stand on April 8 and told how he found traces of fentanyl and methamphetamine when he tested blood drawn from Floyd at the hospital and urine from his autopsy.
He told the court that even though there was a high level of fentanyl in Floyd's bloodstream – 11ng ml where a 3ng ml could be lethal – individual tolerance had to be taken into account.
The toxicology expert suggested Floyd's tolerance have been high as a regular user.
He also pointed to the presence of norfentanyl – a metabolic of fentanyl.
Isenschmid said that he wouldn't expect to see this in a case where death had occurred as a result of fentanyl overdose because the body wouldn't have had a chance to metabolize the drug.
He described the level of meth in Floyd's bloodstream – 19ng ml - as no more than he would expect to find in the blood of a patient who had consumed a single legally prescribed dose and his amphetamine was below reportable levels.
Forensic expert Dr William Smock
Dr William Smock took the stand on April 8 and testified that Floyd died from positional asphyxia, which he said was 'a fancy way of saying he died because he had no oxygen left in his body'.
'When the body is deprived of oxygen, in this case from pressure on this chest and back, he gradually succumbed to lower and lower levels of oxygen until he succumbed and he died,' he said.
Smock said that he had considered and dismissed other causes including the defense's causes of choice – fentanyl overdose and excited delirium.
One by one he explained the symptoms of excited delirium – including excessive sweat, being unaffected by pain and super-human strength – and dismissed them pointing out that Floyd was cold to the touch, complaining of pain from the moment he was on the ground and unable to throw the police officers from his back.
Asked by prosecutors how many of the 10 recognized symptoms he observed, Smock answered: 'Zip.'
He discarded fentanyl overdose as a possible cause of death because he said, Floyd was not falling into a coma, snoring, or slowing down in breathing.
He was, instead, fighting for his life and demonstrating 'air hunger' as he struggled to breathe. He pointed to Floyd's weakening voice as evidence that the life was draining from him and recognized Floyd's dying moments in his altering facial expressions and anoxic seizure – when his legs kicked out straight behind him.
Smock explained that since Floyd was a chronic drug users the levels of narcotics and their metabolites found in his blood stream really meant very little. 'You don't rely on the level, you look at the patient,' he said.
The defense has pointed to the fact that there was no bruising on Floyd's neck and throat post mortem as proof that Chauvin's knee did not dig into him until the life was squeezed out of him.
But Smock, who is also a specialist in strangulation, said: 'You can be fatally strangled and died of asphyxia and have no bruising.'
Dr William Smock, a forensic medicine expert, told the jury in Derek Chauvin's murder trial on Thursday April 8 that when George Floyd cried out 'I can't breathe' he was exhibiting the desperation of 'air hunger'
Forensic pathologist Dr Lindsey Thomas
Forensic pathologist Dr Lindsey Thomas, who works as a medical examiner in Reno and Salt Lake City, testified on April 9 that Floyd died as as result of 'low oxygen' or 'asphyxia.'
Thomas said that in this case the autopsy itself did not tell her the cause of death in her investigation but the 'unique' amount of documentation in terms of videos and records was vital in establishing 'mechanism' of death.
She agreed with Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr Andrew Baker's finding that the cause of death was 'cardiopulmonary arrest, complicating law enforcement subdual restraint and neck compression'.
Thomas told the court that there are no physical findings in autopsy that show low oxygen but there are sometimes findings consistent with a cause of death that may result in low oxygen. She gave as an example a partial hanging in which a person may have petechiae, tiny burst blood vessels in the eye.
She said that she had found such supporting signs in Floyd's autopsy. According to Thomas, 'Mr Floyd had superficial injuries on his face, shoulders and wrists. What that does is it supports what I saw in the videos which is that he's being forcibly restrained and subdued and trying to move into a position by rubbing his face against the ground, pulling against his handcuffs and by pushing with his shoulder.
'And he also had some scrapes on his knuckles on his right hand and again that was from him pushing trying to get into a position where he could breathe.'
She explained: 'There are really two parts; cardiopulmonary arrest which doesn't really provide much additional information because essentially we all die when our heart and lungs stop, but as a forensic pathologist I would use it to differentiate from cardiac arrest. This is not a sudden cardiac arrest.
'This is a death where both the heart and lungs stopped working and the point is that it is due to subdual restraint and compression.'
Thomas concluded: 'The activities of the law enforcement officers led to Mr Floyd's death.'
And by that she meant placing him in the prone position, handcuffing him and kneeling on his back and, specifically, neck.
Hennepin County Chief Medical Examiner Dr Andrew Baker
Hennepin County Chief Medical Examiner Dr Andrew Baker, who performed Floyd's autopsy, took the stand on April 9 and said that he did not find the cause of death to be asphyxia or low oxygen levels and that he did not believe that Chauvin's knee was on Floyd's neck for 'the majority' of the time.
In a massive departure from the prosecution's contention, Baker said: 'In my impression from the video it would appear that Mr Chauvin's knee was primarily on the back, on the side or the area in between Mr Floyd's neck (and back).'
Under cross examination, Baker told the court that asphyxia was 'a very common cause' of the deaths that he had seen across 2,900 to 3,000 autopsies but it was not the conclusion that he came to before, or after, having seen the videos of the incident on May 25, 2020.
In a startlingly brief direct questioning by Jerry Blackwell, Baker told the court that Floyd died because being pinned down on the ground with his neck compressed was, 'just more than he could take,' given his severe underlying heart disease.
Asked if, in his opinion, the positioning of Chauvin's knee would cut off Floyd's oxygen supply, Baker said: 'In my opinion it would not.'
In his view, he said: 'It was the stress of that interaction that tipped him over the edge given his underlying heart disease and his toxicological status.'
The doctor told the court that he had deliberately avoided all video footage until after he conducted the autopsy because he did not want to introduce any 'bias' that might, 'lead [his] examination down any particular path'.
In his conclusion Floyd's death occurred 'in the context' of law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression but he did not give the cause of death as set out by others.
Cardiologist Dr Jonathan Rich
Dr Jonathan Rich, a cardiologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, took the stand on April 12 and said Floyd would still be alive if it weren't for Chauvin's restraint as he asserted that the black man did not have heart disease and his tolerance for fentanyl was so high that the drug played no role in his death.
'In this case Mr George Floyd died from a cardiopulmonary arrest,' Rich told the jury. 'It was caused by low oxygen and those low oxygen levels were produced by the prone restraint and positional asphyxia that he was subjected to.'
Rich refuted key arguments from the defense when he said he had considered and discounted Floyd's cause of death as having originated from the heart itself or being the result of an overdose.
'After reviewing all of the facts I can state with a high degree of medical certainty that George Floyd did not die from a primary cardiac event and he did not die from a drug overdose,' he said.
Instead, he said Floyd 'was just unable using all of his muscles, his accessory muscles, he was unable [to breathe] because of the position he was subjected to'.
'The heart thus didn't have enough oxygen either which means the entire body didn't have enough oxygen,' he said.
Asked whether he thought Floyd would be alive today were it not for 'Mr Chauvin’s subdual and restraint of nine minutes and 29 seconds on the ground', Rich said: 'To a high degree of medical certainty, he would have lived.'
Rich told the court that, in his view: 'Mr George Floyd's death was absolutely preventable.'
He said the first thing that could've been done to prevent Floyd's death would have been to simply not place him in the prone position at all.
After that happened, Rich said Floyd should have been moved into the side recovery position when his complaints of not being able to breathe became audibly weaker.
While Floyd had high blood pressure which could, Rich said, become a problem over time if not treated, he told the jury: 'Every indicator is that Mr Floyd had an exceptionally strong heart because he could generate pressures at some points upwards of 200.'
Rich explained that a problem with some of the patients he sees who are suffering heart failure is that they cannot generate pressures of even 80 as a top number. Normal blood pressure is around 120/80.
As doctors Martin Tobin, William Smock and Lindsey Thomas had before him, Rich asserted that the deterioration he observed in Floyd was not the sudden loss of consciousness of a primary cardiac event, but the slow seeping way of one deprived of oxygen for a prolonged period of time.
'In the course of the restraint I was looking to see if his deterioration occurred rapidly,' Rich said. 'A primary cardiac event, the most common arrhythmia is ventricular fibrillation, when that happens the individual will look relatively okay and then they will immediately become unconscious.
'On the other hand if the cause is from something else – for example low oxygen levels – you will typically see that happening more gradually and slowly.
'I could see his speech starting to become less forceful, his muscle movements becoming weaker until eventually his speech and muscle movements were absent. And then of course he was in a PEA (Pulseless Electrical Activity) cardiopulmonary arrest.'
Turning to the autopsy report, Rich said that he had found no evidence of the sort of tell-tale damage to the heart that a heart attack would have left behind.
And while he called Floyd's arterial disease 'notable', he said it was not something that surprised him because it is so common. What was most significant, he said, was that Floyd's arteries were only partially blocked, not completely occluded – a sign of that a heart attack had occurred.
Rich discounted a fentanyl or methamphetamine overdose saying that he felt the latter 'played no substantive role at all'.
He said from what he had seen, Floyd's behavior – his talkativeness, alertness, ability to walk – was the opposite of what a person would witness in an opiate overdose.
On cross examination, Nelson tried to take the sting out of Rich's testimony that Floyd would be alive today were it not for Chauvin’s actions.
Flipping the outcome back on Floyd, Nelson asked: 'If Mr Floyd had just got into the seat of the squad car do you think he would have survived?'
Rich tip-toed into his answer, denying Nelson the straight yes or no that he sought.
'Had he not been restrained in the way in which he was, I think he would have survived that day. I think he would have gone home had he not been subjected to the prone position that he was,' he said.
'So in other words,' Nelson summed up for the court. 'If he had just gotten into the squad car.'
Philonise Floyd, George Floyd's younger brother
Floyd's younger brother Philonise Floyd broke down in tears at trial on April 12 as the court was shown pictures of his slain sibling - as a young boy, sleeping in his smiling mother’s arms, as a teenager studying, pen in hand and as a young athlete who got a basketball scholarship to South Florida before transferring to Gainesville, Texas, where he played football, and smiling with his seven-year-old daughter Gianna in his arms.
Philonise, 39, recalled his oldest brother as a 'leader,' who organized his younger siblings and made sure they had their school uniform each morning and a snack before school. He said that people in their community would go to church just because they saw that Floyd was there.
He said that his older brother always wanted to be taller and to be the best, measuring himself as he grew and throwing hundreds of hoops in a bid to be the 'best' at basketball.
Philonise recalled playing video games and catch with Floyd growing up before telling the court with a smile that his brother 'couldn't boil water' but would make the best 'banana and mayonnaise and syrup sandwiches'.
Toward the end of his brief testimony, he told how broken Floyd was by his mother's death, saying that at the funeral, 'George just sat there at the casket saying: "Mamma" over and over again.
'He was just kissing her. He didn't want to leave the casket.'
George Floyd's brother Philonise Floyd testified at Derek Chauvin's murder trial on Monday afternoon (pictured)
Use-of-force expert Seth Stoughton
The prosecution's final witness, use-of-force expert Seth Stoughton, testified on April 12 that Floyd did not pose a threat during his fatal arrest and said officers should have relented after the handcuffed black man pleaded: 'I can't breathe' 27 times.
Stoughton, a former cop turned law professor, was asked to provide his analysis of body camera video of Floyd pinned to the ground by Chauvin and two other officers on May 25 in Minneapolis.
In a damning sequence prosecutor Steve Schleicher asked: 'Did Mr Floyd present any threat of escape? Did he present any threat to physical property? Did he present any threat to the physical safety of officers or anyone else?'
Again and again Stoughton answered: 'No he did not.'
Asked: 'Did he present any sort of threat at all?' Stoughton again said: 'No he did not.'
Stoughton concluded: 'No reasonable officers would have believed that was an appropriate, acceptable or reasonable use of force.'
Stoughton said it was 'never' necessary or reasonable to place Floyd in a prone position, adding: 'It's clear from the number of officers the fact that he's handcuffed and has been searched he doesn't present any threat of harm, his actions don't suggest he's any threat of escape.'
'Given the range of alternatives available to officers it’s just not appropriate to prone someone when they’re already compliant,' Stoughton said.
Stoughton went on to draw a distinction between 'threat' and 'risk'.
He explained: 'Threat is not some abstract notion. It's specific; threat "of" something. Threat exists when the individual has the physical ability, the opportunity and apparent intention to cause whatever harm we're envisaging.
'That's how we identify threat. Risk you can think of as a potential threat. Risk is something officers can use tactics and communications to address. The goal is to prevent risk becoming threat and that threat to turn into whatever the apparent harm intended is.'
He added: 'While threat can justify use of force, risk can't.'
Stoughton said that he considered a use of force review as 'kind of a balancing of harms. The idea is an officer cannot use more force than the situation justifies.
'The foreseeable effects can't be disproportionate to the perceived threat.'
That is exactly what he concluded they had been on May 25, 2020.
Stoughton told the court: 'Before he fell silent Mr Floyd said: "I can't breathe" by my count at least 27 times. If somebody is describing that they're in distress then officers have to take that into account.'
'The officers are maintaining Mr Floyd in that prone position but there are some indicators that the foreseeable effects are occurring and that he’s experiencing positional asphyxia.
'Not only does he indicate it with the words he's using but [as the restraint continues] his voice is slower and thicker.'
According to Stoughton a 'reasonable officer' would 'absolutely' have been aware of Floyd's complaints and in fact Chauvin can be heard acknowledging both them and, later, Officer J Alexander Keung telling him that he could not find a pulse.
Returning to his threat assessment as a vital part of establishing the reasonableness of force used Stoughton said: 'Somebody who does not have a pulse does not present a threat in any way.'
Stoughton also dismissed the notion that the crowd posed any credible threat or could be perceived as such by a 'reasonable officer'.
He pointed out that the first negative comment from the crowd came more than three minutes into the restraint and he noted Officer Tou Thao's flippant comment: 'This is why you don't do drugs, kids' as an indication that the officers were not truly afraid of trouble.
'That's relevant because if you are concerned about a crowd you don't say things that are likely to exacerbate that situation,' he explained. 'A comment like: "This is why you don't do drugs, kids," is not rapport building.'
After Floyd had been removed by paramedics Chauvin returned to his squad car and could be heard in a interaction with a bystander.
Paraphrasing what he could recall, Stoughton said that Chauvin attempted to justify his actions by saying, 'something akin to describing Mr Floyd as a pretty big guy, possibly intoxicated possibly on drugs and that officers needed to keep control over him'.
According to Stoughton: 'All of those individual statements are true; Mr Floyd was a larger individual and there was ample reason to think he may have been impaired by alcohol or drugs.
'But a reasonable officer in this situation would have perceived that they could have maintained control over him without putting a knee on his neck or keeping him in that position.
'The sanctity of human life is the absolute priority in policing.
On cross examination, Nelson pressed Stoughton: 'Does the reasonable officer decide whether they should be put in the squad car or does the suspect decide whether they should be put in the squad car...the suspect does not get to dictate I get to sit on the ground or in the front of the squad car?'
Stoughton agreed they did not.
Nelson re-iterated Stoughton's view that the use of the prone position was never reasonable suggesting that 'reasonable minds' can disagree.
'On this particular point? No,' Stoughton countered.
Stoughton agreed that the use of force is often not very pretty but that that did not necessarily mean that it was unlawful.
But he added: 'I don't think that's the case here.'
DEFENSE
Retired Minneapolis police officer Scott Creighton
Retired Minneapolis police officer Scott Creighton was the first witness to take the stand for the defense on Tuesday April 13 as the court watched body-camera footage of Floyd's arrest on May 6, 2019.
In a remarkably brief direct examination Nelson asked Creighton what he had observed of Floyd as he approached his vehicle. Creighton told the jury that Floyd was not responsive and that he had to 'physically reach in [to the car] because I wanted to see his hands.'
In the video Floyd can be heard saying: 'I don't want to be shot' before Creighton pulled him out of the car.
Under cross examination by Erin Eldridge, Creighton observed that the situation had 'escalated really quick' once Floyd refused to show his hands and that he was compelled to pull his gun.
He described Floyd as 'incoherent' but able to walk and talk.
Nelson had hoped to show the jury that, under similar circumstances, when approached in a car by an officer with his gun drawn, Floyd rapidly ingested drugs and pretended to have a medical emergency.
On re-direct Nelson asked if Creighton had heard his partner instructing Floyd to 'spit it out'. Creighton said, he may have done.
Retired Minneapolis Police Officer Scott Creighton (pictured) testified about what he witnessed of Floyd during an arrest on May 6, 2019
Retired paramedic Michelle Moseng
Retired paramedic Michelle Moseng was the prosecution's second witness on Tuesday April 13 as Nelson drew out the parallels between May 6, 2019 and what he contests took place on May 25, 2020.
Moseng was called to Floyd's arrest during which he had required medical care.
According to Moseng, Floyd was agitated and upset and told her that he had been taking seven to nine opioids – oxy and Percocet – every twenty minutes throughout the day and another just before the officer had approached the car.
When asked for details of her physical assessment of Floyd she revealed that she recorded a blood pressure of 216 over 160 – so high that she recommended he be taken immediately to hospital.
Floyd told her, she said, that he had not been taking his blood pressure medication, 'for months'.
In an aggressive cross-examination, Eldridge peppered the witness with questions demanding her acknowledgement that Floyd’s blood oxygen, pulse, respiration, heart rhythm and EKG were all normal.
'And you took him to the hospital and he was monitored for two hours and he was released,' Eldridge said, to which Moseng answered: 'Yes.'
Michelle Moseng (pictured) was the paramedic called to administer medical aid during Floyd's arrest on May 6, 2019
George Floyd's friend Shawanda Hill
The third witness called by the defense was Shawanda Hill, the woman who was in the car with Floyd and his friend Morries Hall, on May 25, 2020, after having bumped into Floyd in Cup Foods where he offered to give her a ride home.
At times hard to hear and irritable, Hill told Nelson that Floyd was 'happy, normal' and 'alert' when she spoke to him in the store.
But back in the car – after she had been on a call with her daughter – Hill said she saw that Floyd had suddenly fallen asleep before Cup Foods clerks came out to confront him about using a counterfeit $20 bill.
By then, she said: 'He was already sleeping. When they came to the car and when they came try to wake him up, I tried to wake him up over and over, he kept, he'd wake up, then say something, then nodded back off. He did that a couple of times.'
Hill went onto relate how she had struggled to get Floyd to focus when the police arrived, telling him: 'Baby that's the police, open the door, roll down the window.'
Hill said Floyd was 'startled' when Officer Thomas Lane pulled his gun, prompting him to grab at the steering wheel and plead: 'Please don't shoot me, please don't shoot me.'
Judge Cahill spoke to Hill, who had been named in earlier testimony as a heroin dealer, ahead of the jury being seated after a brief morning break.
He explained to her that the attorneys might ask her whether or not she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol and that, though he did not think the questions would incriminate her and he had instructed the limit of their scope, she had the right to consult and attorney regarding invoking her Fifth Amendment right.
She said she did not need one and that she was 'ready to go'.
In his brief cross-examination Assistant Attorney General Frank Matthew established that, despite his sleepiness, Floyd was not short of breath or complaining of chest pains at any point.
Minneapolis Park Police Officer Peter Chang
The fourth witness for the defense was Minneapolis Park Police Officer Peter Chang, who arrived at Cup Foods after officers Thomas Lane and J Alexander Keung had already confronted Floyd.
The jury was shown video from Chang's body-camera, which revealed Floyd's friends reactions to his arrest for the first time.
Chang described a relatively calm scene on his arrival at Cup Foods where he saw Keung next to Floyd who was seated on the ground, handcuffed and leaning against the wall outside Dragon Wok restaurant.
Chang told the court that he had been 'concerned for the officers' safety' due to the 'very aggressive crowd' that gathered outside Cup Foods on 38th and Chicago as police struggled with and subdued Floyd.
As the scene in front of Cup Foods clearly becomes more heated, Chang can be seen pacing to and fro - movement he explained to Nelson as due to checking on his fellow officers’ safety - and repeatedly telling Hill and Hall to stay put as they agitate to see what’s going on.
He informs them: 'Right now they're grabbing an ambulance for your buddy. He might have heart himself.'
Cautioning both to stay away from the car and the scene, he tells Hill: 'Shawanda you're not helping.'
In a very brief cross-examination Frank established that there had never been a 'code 3' or emergent call out to the scene at Cup Foods and undercut Chang’s concern for his fellow officers by pointing out that he knew there were four officers on scene and that none ever radioed for help.
MPD Medical Support Coordinator Nicole MacKenzie
Minneapolis Police Department Medical Support Coordinator Nicole MacKenzie made her second appearance on the stand directly before the court broke for lunch on Tuesday.
When appearing as a state witness last week, MacKenzie gave her opinion that treating a person under the eyes of a crowd, hostile or otherwise, 'is incredibly difficult'. She also told the court about 'excited delirium', saying that it could give a person, 'super-human' strength.
Today Nelson focused on the symptoms of the condition and recent training materials that, he established, of which Chauvin as a veteran would not have had knowledge.
In contrast, rookie Lane did and in body-worn camera footage he can be heard expressing concern that Floyd may be suffering from excited delirium.
MacKenzie explained that Lane would have received training that included the acronym NOTACRIME of signs and actions cadets were trained to note and take.
She talked the jury through each letter. She said that a person may be Naked, exhibit violence towards Objects, by Tough and unstoppable. The onset could be Acute, the person Confused and Resistant as well as Incoherent, the condition could be due to Mental health issues and always required an EMS to be called early as it could lead to a sudden cardiac arrest.
In another brief cross Frank established from MacKenzie that as a medical support coordinator it was not her job to diagnose conditions. She agreed she would always defer to a paramedic.
Minneapolis Police Department Medical Support Coordinator Nicole MacKenzie made her second appearance on the stand directly before the court broke for lunch on Tuesday
Use-of-force expert Barry Brodd
Barry Brodd, a former cop and use-of-force expert who specializes in police and civilian defense cases, testified for Chauvin's defense on Tuesday April 13 and said the defendant did not use deadly force against Floyd.
In fact, Brodd argued that Chauvin's placing the handcuffed black man in the prone position and kneeling on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds did not constitute use of force at all.
'It's a control technique. It doesn't hurt,' Brodd said. 'It's safe for the officer, safe for the suspect and you're using minimal effort to keep them on the ground.'
During direct examination by Nelson, Brodd said Chauvin was 'justified' and acting 'with objective reasonableness' in his interactions with Floyd.
He told the jury that police officers 'don't have to fight fair', explaining that they can use a level of force that is 'one up' from the level of any resistance. He noted that when dealing with suspects who are under the influence of drugs, officers can 'find themselves in a fight for their life in a heartbeat'.
Brodd also leaned in to the defense narrative that Chauvin and his fellow officers felt 'threatened' by the gathering crowd.
Brodd's confident testimony took a turn when prosecutor Steve Schleicher stepped up to cross examine him, wasting no time in tackling the assertion that keeping Floyd in the prone position did not constitute a use of force and did not hurt.
He asked Brodd if he truly believed that it is unlikely that 'orienting yourself on top of a person on the pavement with both legs [on top of them] is unlikely to produce pain?' Brodd conceded that it could.
Schleicher countered that if that position could produce pain, by Brodd's logic, it could also constitute a use of force.
Looking at the all-too-familiar image of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck, Brodd was forced to concede: 'Shown in this picture, that could be use of force' - but argued that Floyd had grown increasingly non-compliant.
Schleicher then showed a screengrab of Floyd pinned to the ground and asked: 'What part of this is not compliant?'
Refusing to deviate from his narrative Brodd insisted: 'I see his arm position. A compliant person would have both their hands in the small of their back and be resting comfortably.'
The disbelief clear in his voice, Schleicher asked: 'Did you say resting comfortably?'
'At this time when he's attempting to breathe by shoving his shoulder into the pavement,' Brodd replied.
Pathologist Dr David Fowler
Dr David Fowler, the former chief medical examiner of Maryland, took the stand on April 14 to share his conclusion that Floyd's death should have never been ruled a homicide because there were too many competing potential causes of death.
One of the potential causes Fowler presented was Floyd's exposure to exhaust from the squad car he was pinned next to, which the witness said could have caused some degree of carbon monoxide poisoning.
But on cross examination by trial attorney Jerry Blackwell, Fowler was forced to admit that he had no concrete evidence to support the carbon monoxide poisoning theory.
Blackwell seized on the fact that Fowler had never set eyes on the squad car or attempted to simulate the conditions to sample possible levels of carbon monoxide in Floyd's vicinity.
The prosecutor bluntly challenged: 'For that matter cutting even more to the chase how do you even know the car was on?'
Fowler said that it was a question he had specifically asked and that he had observed water dripping from what appears to be a tail pipe.
Blackwell pressed: 'You just assumed based on observing something dripping from a tail pipe that the car was on?'
'It's not an assumption,' Fowler bit back. 'It's an evaluation based on an indicator that the car was running.'
The carbon monoxide point was one of many on which Fowler contradicted the opinions of medical experts who testified before him.
Blackwell drilled down on those contradictions while attempting to chip away at Fowler's credibility, at one point telling him: 'You're not a toxicologist..a pulmonologist.. a cardiologist, a physiologist…You don't treat patients.'
Fowler's earliest contradiction across more than five hours of testimony came when he shared his conclusion that Floyd died from a 'sudden cardiac arrhythmia' due to his underlying heart disease during his restraint by police. That conclusion was refuted by Dr Andrew Baker, the Hennepin County chief medical examiner who performed Floyd's autopsy.
Among the 'significant contributing conditions' that he listed was the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine, paraganglioma - the adrenalin secreting-tumor that Floyd had - and his exposure to the squad car exhaust.
Fowler also said that Floyd had an enlarged heart, which meant he needed more oxygen to function, and that methamphetamine use heightened his risk of cardiac arrhythmia.
Later in his lengthy and technical testimony, Fowler cited multiple studies which challenged the notion that the prone position - in which Floyd was held for nine minutes and 29 seconds - is inherently dangerous.
He also referenced studies which concluded that it doesn't matter how much a person weighs if they are applying a single knee to another person - and a double knee restraint makes only a modest difference.
According to those studies a person transfers just 23 percent of their bodyweight during a double knee restraint. So, Dr Fowler said, Chauvin – who he viewed as applying a single knee restraint for most of the restraint – would have been applying less than 30 to 35 pounds of weight to Floyd.
Asked if any of that weight compromised Floyd's neck structures, Fowler said: 'None of the vital structures.'
'There was absolutely no evidence of any injury to the skin or deeper structures of the back or neck,' he said, citing photos from Floyd's autopsy.
In fact, he said the pressure applied to Floyd was less than the amount necessary to even bruise him.
PROSECUTION - REBUTTAL
Pulmonology expert Dr Martin Tobin
The state recalled its star medical witness, pulmonologist Dr Martin Tobin, to the stand for its rebuttal on April 15.
Tobin told the jury that the defense expert who testified at length yesterday, Dr David Fowler, was 'simply wrong' in his conclusions that carbon monoxide played any role in Floyd's death.
Addressing Fowler's claim that the levels of carbon monoxide in Floyd's blood could have been between 10 and 18 percent, Tobin said: 'I believe it is not reliable.'
Tobin started to tell jurors that his view was based on arterial blood gas obtained from Floyd in Hennepin County Medical Center when Nelson objected.
Before the witness stepped up, Judge Cahill warned the state that he would declare a mistrial if Tobin sought to introduce any new evidence during his rebuttal to Fowler's testimony.
Instead Tobin walked the fine line and explained: '[Floyd] had an arterial blood gas obtained, so that's sticking a needle into the artery and you measure a number of different items like the pressure of oxygen, carbon dioxide, acid, and the oxygen saturation and that is how much of the hemoglobin the protein in the blood that carries the oxygen.'
Asked for Floyd's oxygen saturation levels, Tobin told the court: 'It was 98 percent saturated with oxygen when they measured it at Hennepin County Medical Center and that was 9.16pm.'
As for what, if anything, that tells about Floyd's carbon monoxide levels, Tobin said: 'If hemoglobin is saturated at 98 percent, all there was for everything else was two percent.
'The maximum amount [of carbon monoxide] was two percent, it could be something else but two percent is within the normal range.'
Pressing that point he told the jury: 'You and I have somewhere between zero and three.'
He said Fowler's statement that Floyd's carbon monoxide could have increased to between ten and 18 percent was 'simply wrong'.
Tobin also cast doubt on Fowler's testimony with respect to the hypopharynx – the area of the throat that, he said, would not have been narrowed by Chauvin's knee on his neck.
Fowler said he could find no research to support the notion that it would have.
Today Tobin said: 'There's at least a dozen maybe 20 studies that show the relationship between how if you lower the size of the lungs you must get a decrease in the hypopharynx.'
But he said there was no specific research into how pressure on the neck narrows it because 'we try to do research and studies that might be puzzling'.
Tobin explained: 'If you think about sticking your fingers into your neck you know it's going to narrow the hypopharynx. It's common sense.'
In a brief cross-examination, Nelson pointed out that Tobin had not produced for the courts review any of the dozens of articles which he cited.
President Joe Biden told the nation Tuesday that the verdict in the Derek Chauvin case sends the message that no one is 'above the law' – as he demanded new action to honor George Floyd after a killing he called a 'stain on the nation's soul.'
Biden spoke from the White House after a jury turned in Tuesday's guilty verdict against Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer.
'No one should be above the law. And today’s verdict sends that message. But it’s not enough. It can’t stop here,' Biden said.
'No one should be above the law. And today’s verdict sends that message. But it’s not enough. It can’t stop here,' President Joe Biden said in a speech to the nation following a guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial
He said after the verdict it was time for the nation to 'come together.'
And he used graphic language to describe Floyd's killing during his arrest in May. He compared systemic racism he said permeates the nation to 'the knee on the neck of justice for black Americans.'
Biden described the graphic murder of Floyd that was captured on video and watched by onlookers in horror, while seeking to steer the national attention toward reforms. Public officials had been bracing for potential protests in the event of a partial acquittal.
'It was a murder in the full light of day and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism the vice president just referred to,' Biden said. He made his remarks after Vice President Kamala Harris called for passage of the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act, which she co-introduced last summer when she was in the Senate.
Vice President Kamala Harris called for action on the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act
Biden said the event illustrated 'the pain the exhaustion that black and brown Americans experience every single day.'
He called the verdict 'a step forward' – and said it 'could be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America.'
He also pointed out that the verdict was 'much too rare,' a reference to the relative paucity of convictions when police are charged.
The president pointed to such factors as a 'brave young woman smart phone,' a 'traumatized' crowd by a 'murder that lasted almost 10 minutes in broad daylight' – as well as officers who stood up and testified 'instead of just closing ranks.'
He said that action 'should be commended,' and hailed the jury he said carried out 'their civic duty.'
The president referred to the 'trauma' he said 'so many people of color live with every day. And they go to sleep at night, and pray for the safety of themselves and their loved ones.'
He noted how Floyd's murder - a term he used repeatedly now that the jury has spoken - 'launched a summer of protests we haven't seen since the Civil Rights era in the 60s. 'Protests that unified people of every race, generation in peace and with purpose to say: Enough. Enough. Enough of the senseless killings.'
Biden phoned family members and lawyers for George Floyd just minutes after a Minnesota jury returned a guilty verdict in the trial that captured the nation's attention, as he again consoled family members and celebrated a verdict that he said would 'change the world.'
Biden phoned along with Vice President Kamala Harris and first lady Jill Biden. And in a modern twist, lead attorney Benjamin Crump played the call on speaker phone – with the discussion instantly beamed around the world on social media and cable news.
'Feeling better now,' Biden told tearful family members and listeners who gathered around Philonise Floyd's phone. 'Nothing is going to make it all better. But at least, God, now there's some justice,' Biden said.
President Joe Biden phoned family members and lawyers for George Floyd and lawyer Benjamin Crump on Tuesday following the verdict in the Derek Chauvin case
Biden referenced comments by Floyd's daughter, Gianna, that her late father was going to change the world. 'He's going to start to change it now,' Biden told the group.
Biden previously revealed he also called the family Monday, with the outcome uncertain – and as the White House noted repeatedly, the jury was sequestered.
He told the family afterward: 'You're an incredible family. I wish I were there – just [to] put my arms around you.'
He told them he was with White House advisor, former Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, while making the call, which Biden made from the Oval Office.
'We've been watching every second of this, and the vice president, all of us. We were all so relieved, not just one verdict but all three,' Biden said.
Crump tweeted out video of the exchange.
Benjamin Crump tweeted out the exchange. He laughed when Biden said he wanted to provide family members a ride on Air Force One during a future trip to Washington
'It's really important. I'm anxious to see you guys, I really am. We're going to get a lot more done,' he promised them. 'We're going to stay at it until we get it done,' Biden said.
That prompted Crump to push Biden to act on and sign the George Floyd policing act, which is stalled in the Senate.
'You got it pal. That and a lot more,' Biden promised. He said the outcome 'provided a fresh shot at dealing with genuine systemic racism.'
Harris, the nation's first black and first female vice president, also spoke. 'I'm just so grateful fo the entire family,' she said, saluting 'your courage, your commitment.'
'This is a day of justice in America,' Harris said. She called the family 'real leaders when we needed you.'
'History will look back at this moment and know that it was an inflection moment,' she said. 'We're going to make something good come out of this tragedy, okay?' she said.
Then Biden chimed back in. 'When we do it, we're going to put you on Air Force One and get you here,' he said, prompting laughs.
'We're going to hold you to that, President Biden,' Crump responded.
Earlier Tuesday, Biden said he was praying for the 'right verdict' in George Floyd trial and called the evidence 'overwhelming’ in series of extraordinary comments that come as the jury begins its second day of deliberations in the Derek Chauvin case.
'I'm praying the verdict is the right verdict. Which is – I think it's overwhelming in my view,' Biden told reporters in the Oval office. 'I wouldn’t say that unless the jury was sequestered now.'
The White House later claimed Biden wasn’t advocating for a particular verdict but expressing compassion for the Floyd family.
‘I don't think he would see it as weighing in on the verdict,’ White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at her press briefing. ‘He was conveying what many people are feeling across the country, which is compassion for the family.’
She indicated Biden could have more to say after the verdict is rendered. Biden is weighing an address to the nation, according to reports.
‘I expect that he will weigh in more, further, once there is a verdict and I'm not going to provide additional analysis on what he meant,’ Psaki said, declining to clarify if Biden wanted Chauvin found guilty on all charges.
She defended Biden’s comments, saying the president had closely followed the trial, has gotten close to the Floyd family and waited to speak until the jury was sequestered.
Biden called Floyd's brother Philonise on Monday after the jury went behind closed doors for their deliberations on the charges of murder and manslaughter against Chauvin. The president noted he waited until the jury was sequestered to make the call and to comment on the case.
'I've come to know George's family,' Biden said as he added he 'can only imagine the pressure and anxiety they're feeling.'
Biden has denounced Floyd's death but had stopped short of weighing in on the trial until now. His extraordinary comments come as the 12-member jury began its second day behind closed doors and the nation waits for their decision.
The president's comments also come amid growing anger among Republicans for Rep. Maxine Waters' calling for Chauvin to be found guilty and for Black Lives Matter protesters to be 'more confrontational'.
The California Democrat sparked outrage by travelling to Minneapolis on Saturday and urging protesters to 'get more confrontational' if Chauvin was acquitted. She later said she was not urging violence and accused Republicans of twisting her words. She was back on Capitol Hill Tuesday, presiding over the House Financial Services Committee, which she chairs. Democrats have defended her remarks.
Waters’ comments over the weekend, on the eve of the jury retiring to consider its verdict, may have handed Chauvin's defense grounds for appeal and the turning over of any guilty verdict. The judge on Monday said ‘I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case.’
The White House also has stood by Waters.
‘The congresswoman has provided further clarification of her own remarks and I would certainly point you to that,’ Psaki said on Tuesday.
The White House press secretary also dismissed a question on whether there were worries Biden’s hope for a ‘right verdict’ would spark violence if that wasn’t the outcome.
‘Regardless of the outcome, the president has consistently called for peace,’ Psaki said, adding Biden supports peaceful protests.
She noted Biden understands the pain minority communities are feeling and their worries about their treatment at the hands of law enforcement.
‘He also understands this is an extremely painful moment for many people in this country who are exhausted, who are tired of seeing one person after another lose their life at the hands of law enforcement,’ she said. ‘He's aware of that and the need for reform.’
Meanwhile, Philonise Floyd said Biden, who has buried a wife and two children, spoke to him about what it's like to lose a family member.
'He was just calling. He knows how it is to lose a family member. And he knows that the process of what we're going through so he was just letting us know that he was praying for us, and hoping that everything would come out to be okay,' Philonise told NBC's Today on Tuesday morning.
Floyd said he is 'optimistic' about the coming verdict in his brother's murder trial. 'Hopefully it will be the way the world wants to see it,' he noted. He also expressed his hope for peace when the trial ends.
'We just want everyone to be peaceful', he added, as Minneapolis braces for the verdict and the White House figures out how to deal with any potential fallout.
More than 3,000 Minnesota National Guard members have been activated and hundreds marched through the streets of Minneapolis on Monday night as the US waits for the outcome of the trial.
Scroll down for video
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden wasn't weighing in on the verdict but expressing concern about the Floyd family
Rep. Maxine Waters was on Capitol Hill Tuesday presiding over the House Financial Services Committee amid growing Republican anger at her comments on the Derek Chauvin case
George Floyd's brother Philonise reveals President Biden called him on Monday when the jury was sent out to deliberate in Derek Chauvins' trial
Philonise went on to say: 'I just feel that in America, if a Black man can't get justice for this, what can a Black man get justice for?'
Biden is monitoring the trial and is concerned that a verdict may inflame racial tensions at a time when multiple U.S. cities are on edge following police killings.
George W. Bush also discussed the verdict in an interview with Today on Tuesday morning. 'I think the first thing is, Hoda, that people know that the trial has been conducted fairly. And that rule of law reigns supreme in our judiciary. We’ll see what a jury of his peers says, you know, I think a lot of people have already made up their mind what the verdict ought to be.
'All I can tell you is that if the trial is not conducted fairly, there is an appeal process. One of the things that we learned after the storming of the Capitol was our institutions held, and one of the institutions that is really important for the confidence of the American people is a fair judicial system.'
The footage of Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd's neck during Floyd's arrest last summer set off protests in Minneapolis and around the country. If the Chauvin jury should deliver a verdict this week or next, the results would come amid renewed tensions in communities where police have shot suspects during traffic stops and arrests – along with sharp splits over efforts to control the coronavirus and a new spate of mass shootings.
The prosecution argued Chauvin 'had to know' that he was killing Floyd when the officer had his knee on his back as the man was handcuffed. The defense, meanwhile, asked the jury of 12 people - six white, four black and two multiracial - to consider the 'totality of the circumstances.' The defense argued Chauvin behaved as any 'reasonable' officer would have and said that Floyd died of a combination of drugs in his system and preexisting health issues, not Chauvin's knee.
Meanwhile, Waters, 82, defiantly insisted on Monday afternoon that she stood by her words.
'The judge says my words don't matter,' she told CNN.
When pressed on the judge stating that her remarks could be grounds for appeal, she replied: 'Oh no, no they didn't.'
She insisted she was entirely justified in her call to action, saying: 'The whole Civil Rights movement is confrontational.'
Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is introducing a resolution for Waters to be censured and says she 'incited violence' with her remarks.
'(Biden) knows how it is to lose a family member. And he knows that the process of what we're going through so he was just letting us know that he was praying for us, and hoping that everything would come out to be okay,' Philonise told NBC Today
He believes up to 15 Democrats could back the motion to censure and said Waters 'believes there is value in violence'. McCarthy would need Democratic support to get the censure resolution passed.
Democrats including Nancy Pelosi have said she shouldn't apologize for her comments.
The White House also refused to condemn Waters comments. Biden's press secretary said on Monday that protests should be 'peaceful', but did not respond to Waters' comments directly.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the call and said the President wanted to 'check in' with Floyd's family
Waters (D - California) had joined protesters in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center on Saturday night for a demonstration over the death of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man shot dead by a white police officer during a traffic stop on April 11.
Waters told the protesters that she will fight for justice on their behalf and urged them to 'to get more confrontational' - just one day after protests descended into violence.
Following closing arguments on Monday, the jurors retired to deliberate as demonstrators took to the streets of Minneapolis.
Images showed hundreds marching through the city demanding justice for Floyd while waving Black Lives Matter flags and holding signs that read 'Blue Lives Murder'.
Demonstrators gathered outside the Hennepin County courthouse, which is surrounded by high fences and concrete barricades topped with barbed wire.
¿We just want everybody to be peaceful.¿
Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, and attorney Benjamin Crump speak with @craigmelvin as the country awaits a verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin. pic.twitter.com/TGEswuhHxE
National Guard members are seen through fencing and wire near the Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct in Minneapolis
Local organizer Brandyn Tulloch speaks to the crowd during a demonstration on Monday
Protesters take to the street in Minneapolis as jurors begin deliberations following the trial of former Officer Derek Chauvin
Protesters gathered in Minneapolis on Monday as the jury started their deliberations toward a verdict in the case against Derek Chauvin, who faces murder and manslaughter charges in the death of George Floyd
Protesters held signs that demanded justice for George Floyd as the jury was retired to consider their verdict
'I hope we get a verdict that says guilty, guilty, guilty,' she said of the Chauvin trial. 'And if we don't, we cannot go away. We've got to stay on the street. We get more active, we've got to get more confrontational. We've got to make sure that they know that we mean business.'
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell likewise went after Waters on Monday, telling colleagues: 'It's harder to imagine anything more inappropriate than a member of Congress flying in from California to inform local leaders - not so subtly - that this defendant had better be found guilty or else there will be big trouble in the streets.'
The Kentucky Republican said that Waters' demand for a guilty verdict was 'like somebody window-shopping or ordering off a menu.'
'Every single American deserves a fair trial. This is sacred. You do not balance the scales of justice by trying to tip them,' McConnell said.
The top Senate Republican noted that through much of the country's 'quest for civil rights and equal justice has been the fight to get rid of extra-judicial violence, to get rid of rigged trials where the outcome was molded by public sentiment or angry mob.'
'It is beyond the pale for a sitting member of the United States Congress to look at what happened last summer and imply there should be some kind of a sequel if a legal case does not unfold as she thinks it should,' he said.
Republican House Whip Steve Scalise said: 'Let's be clear: Maxine Waters knew her rhetoric would incite violence in Minneapolis—but she doesn't care, she just requests police escorts for herself. I was shot because of this kind of dangerous rhetoric. Where is the outrage from Dems & the media? They need to condemn this.'
Scalise was shot in 2017 by left-wing activist James Hodgkinson during a charity Congressional Baseball Game in Alexandria, Virginia. The Virginia Attorney General concluded that Hodgkinson's attack was an 'act of terrorism fueled by rage against Republican legislators'.
McCarthy took his criticism even further - saying that he is introducing a motion to censure Waters and claimed that up to 15 Democrats could vote for his motion.
During an interview with on Fox News Primetime, McCarthy said the congresswoman 'believes there is value in violence'.
'And now what she has said has even put doubt into a jury,' McCarthy said, referring to the George Floyd jury that started deliberations on Monday in the murder trial of former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin.
'You had a judge announce that it was wrong. I think this takes action especially when she has a pattern of this behavior,' McCarthy continued.
He was referring to Waters' 2018 remarks when she told Californians to 'get in the face' of Trump administration staffers if they see them in public.
McCarthy said he believes there are 'probably 10 to 15' Democrats who would vote for censure.
'It will all come down to the pressure of what Democrats will put on them to just try to vote to table it - not even to have the discussion,' he added.
But many of these Republicans accusing Waters of inciting violence did not make the same charge against then-President Donald Trump in the wake of the January 6th MAGA riot on Capitol Hill, that left five dead and trail of destruction throughout the Capitol.
McCarthy did take to the House floor to declare Trump, who riled up the crowd with his false claims the election was stolen, 'bears responsibility' for the attack on Congress. McCarthy later flew to Mar-a-Lago to make peace with the former president after Trump became furious at him for his words.
And Scalise argued Trump used the words 'peaceful' when he talked about protesting the election results.
'President Trump use the words peaceful when he talked about, you know, the statements that he made. I haven't heard Maxine saying anything about peacefully protesting. She's talked about violence,' Scalise said on Tuesday.
Waters (D - California) had joined protesters in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center on Saturday night for a demonstration over the death of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man shot dead by a white police officer during a traffic stop on April 11
Maxine Waters' history of defending violence: Democrat called the deadly 1992 LA riots a 'rebellion' and told her supporters to confront Trump cabinet members in the street
CALLED 1992 LA RIOTS A 'REBELLION'
Waters refused to call the violence in Los Angeles in 1992 a riot, instead dubbing it a 'rebellion' – even though her office was burned down during the unrest.
The riots ensued after the acquittal of four LAPD officers who beat Rodney King, a black man. A video of the incident was captured and circulated.
'There are those who would like for me … to tell people to go inside, to be peaceful, that they have to accept the verdict,' Waters said during a 1992 press conference.
'I accept the responsibility of asking people not to endanger their lives. I am not asking people not to be angry,' she continued.
'I am angry, and I have a right to that anger, and the people out there have a right to that anger.'
The death toll from the riots reached 64, which included nine shot by law enforcement. Of the dead, 28 were black. Reports at the time indicate as many as 2,383 people were injured in some capacity.
Waters insisted that the majority of the looting in LA during that time was just so poor mothers could get necessities for their children.
Waters and then-President Bill Clinton tour Los Angeles in May 1992 after rioters burnt buildings to the ground in violent riots
At the time, she called the violence 'a spontaneous reaction to a lot of injustice and a lot of alienation and frustration.'
'There were mothers who took this as an opportunity to take some milk, to take some bread, to take some shoes. Maybe they shouldn't have done it, but the atmosphere was such that they did it. They are not crooks,' Waters defended while speaking on Michael Jackson's KABC radio talk show in 1992.
She also told a Los Angeles Times reporter at the time: 'One lady said her children didn't have any shoes. She just saw those shoes there, a chance for all of her children to have new shoes. God damn it! It was such a tear-jerker. I might have gone in and taken them for her myself.'
Waters said her office burning down in the riots was not personal. She said she wasn't 'angry at all' and the office was just 'one of the victims of the rebellion.'
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), in an attempt to show solidarity with Black Lives Matter protestors in Brooklyn Center Minneapolis, managed to put herself in quite the difficult situation.
Americans are “able to breath easier and sleep better” because of Joe Biden’s ‘help’ according to Vice President Kamala Harris
“Help is here. And hope is here. And things are looking up. Schools are reopening. Businesses are reopening. Grandparents are seeing their grandchildren in person,” Harris said on Monday.
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Breitbart reports: Harris, speaking to advance President Joe Biden’s $2.25 trillion infrastructure proposal at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, promoted the Biden administration’s “help” that she believes is “delivering real, real relief.”
“Help is here. Help is here,” she reiterated.
“And hope is here and things are looking up. Schools are reopening. Businesses are reopening. Grandparents are seeing their grandchildren in person,” she praised.
“We are delivering real, real relief and the American people are now able to breathe easier and sleep better. And we are not done. The president and I are ready to keep going and we are not going to take it slow. And we are not going to take it one step at a time,” Harris said with a caveat.
“Nope. We are going to take a giant leap into the future,” she exclaimed.
Harris’ political peptalk comes as the administration is struggling on a few fronts with the infrastructure proposal. The first challenge is the Senate Democrats are negotiating with the administration on Biden’s proposed corporate tax hike.
Breitbart News reported Democrats are deserting Biden’s design to increase the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, instead of hiking it only to 25 percent, a hindrance for the president’s efforts to cover the expense of “a multi-trillion-dollar so-called ‘infrastructure’ plan.”
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Jon Tester (D-MT) have doubts about raising the corporate tax rate to Biden’s proposed 28 percent, “which would only raise $600 billion over 15 years and leave a deficiency in Biden’s overall transportation proposal.”
The second problem is 21 House Democrats are joining nine Republicans to repeal a cap on local and state tax deductions called SALT. SALT reform is not a part of the infrastructure package, but many House Democrats have said they will not vote for the infrastructure bill if the deduction is not repealed in the bill.
The SALT deduction cap was instituted by former President Trump and has, as a result, “put President Joe Biden in a bind” due to the cap “disproportionately” impacting “Democrats in high-tax states by eliminating a popular federal deduction.”
The third obstacle the Biden administration is attempting to destruct is the strong Republican opposition to many of the items in the infrastructure bill that go beyond traditional infrastructure.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has called the infrastructure plan a “Trojan horse” and “Orwellian campaign,” seeking to relabel many far-left policies as “infrastructure.” Ironically, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has tweeted that paid leave, child care, and caregiving are “infrastructure” related items to include in infrastructure legislation.
Indeed, many of the proposed line items include subsidies like paid leave, child care, caregiving, housing, kitchens for healthier school lunches, corporate tax hikes, eldercare, and research and development to address the warming of the globe.
Rosanna Arquette has come to the defense of Rep. Maxine Waters, even calling her a “national treasure”after the Congresswoman was accused of ‘inciting violence’.
Waters is facing intense criticism for encouraging protesters in Minnesota to stay on the streets and be “more confrontational.”
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Hollywood actress Arquette tweeted her support for Waters on Monday. the Desperately Seeking Susan star wrote “We love her” and shared a photo of the two women at the Womens March in Los Angeles.
Breitbart reports: Rep. Waters is facing growing heat over comments she made while visiting protestors in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, over the weekend in anticipation of a verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.
“We’ve got to stay on the street and we’ve got to get more active,” Waters said. “We’ve got to get more confrontational. We’ve got to make sure they know we mean business.”
Waters, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, said she was looking for a “guilty” verdict.
Republicans are calling for disciplinary action against Waters, with a possible House censure vote in the works. While GOP leaders are accusing Waters of stoking violence and fueling the fires of racial unrest, Waters has defended herself, claiming that she didn’t encourage violence and that “the whole Civil Rights movement is confrontation.”
The judge in the Chauvin trial said Waters’ comments were so serious in nature that they created grounds for possible appeal if Chauvin is convicted of murder or manslaughter.
“I’ll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned,” Judge Peter Cahill told the defense.
Former President Donald J. Trump has announced his intentions to run in 2024 to fight the evil forces taking over America.
During an appearance on Fox News on Monday, Trump told host Sean Hannity that he is “very seriously” considering running in 2024 so he can help restore normality and eliminate the darkness that has swept across the country.
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“We are going to help with the House,” Trump said with regard to what his goals were for 2022.
“I think we have a really good chance. I’m working with everybody including Kevin McCarthy in taking back the house. I think we have a really good chance in doing it. Likewise, the Senate’s going to be a little bit tougher.”
Dailywire.com reports: Trump also said that he was going to help the Republicans win back the Senate as well, saying he thinks the Republicans have “a really, really good chance.”
Trump said that he was willing to travel, do speeches, and do rallies for candidates that need the help, adding that he is “all in” on helping the GOP.
“I miss the most helping people because I can directly help people,” Trump said when asked what he missed the most about being president. “That’s why I did it. Hey, look, this has been a very traumatic — I had a great life, great company, great business, no problems.”
Trump said that voters are concerned with what’s going on right now because “they see that their guns are going to be gone, their Second Amendment.”
“Their taxes are going up. Regulations are going through the roof. Jobs are going to go out,” Trump continued. “What you see — you know, this is going to take a little while to show. But if they add all these regulations back, the jobs are going to be gone. Your energy independence is going to be gone. So I say this, I am looking at it very seriously, beyond seriously. From a legal standpoint, I don’t want to really talk about it yet, it’s a little too soon.”
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: All right. As we continue from Mar-a-Lago, my exclusive interview with the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump.
I want to know this question. What are your plans for — to help for 2022?
DONALD TRUMP, 45TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to help with the House. I think we have a really good chance. I’m working with everybody including Kevin McCarthy in taking back the House. I think we have a really good chance in doing it. Likewise, the Senate’s going to be a little bit tougher.
But the Senate — so I — I tell you that at least eight senators would have lost their race. I could name them but I don’t want to embarrass them but that includes Mitch, who is heading south. He called me up. He said, I need your help. And I’m very popular in Kentucky. I love Kentucky. And they love me. And I helped him and he won by the most he’s ever won by. So we are going to help with the Senate.
HANNITY: Ok.
TRUMP: And I think we have a good chance —
HANNITY: You got Marco Rubio. I hear Herschel’s name mentioned a lot in Georgia. I hear Lara Trump’s name mentioned a lot in North Carolina. Sununu in New Hampshire, I think he can win that race.
TRUMP: I think so, too.
HANNITY: Ron Johnson in Wisconsin.
TRUMP: Ron Johnson’s a great —
HANNITY: — Been a great senator.
TRUMP: He is a great — he is much more popular than anybody understands.
HANNITY: We don’t know who’s going to run in Ohio but these are all —
TRUMP: We have some good candidates in Ohio.
HANNITY: So —
TRUMP: I think we have a real chance at the Senate. I think we have a really, really good chance.
HANNITY: Well, tell me what — how far you are willing to go?
TRUMP: No, I’m going –
HANNITY: Are you going to travel? Are you going to do speeches? Are you going to do rallies for these candidates?
TRUMP: If they need a rally, we’ll do a rally. We’ll do calls. We’ll do all sorts of things. No, no, we’re all in. Alabama’s going to be a tremendous win with Mo Brooks.
HANNITY: Mo Brooks.
TRUMP: We have a tremendous — look, almost everybody I endorse wins. We had a House seat in Louisiana, wonderful woman. You know, just happened. Her husband died of COVID. He was congressman-elect.
And she is — Julia — she was fantastic. But a lot of people thought she might not get in the run-off. I endorsed her. She got 65 percent of the vote. There was no runoff. It’s very important that we get the right people. And that means in the Senate. It means in the House. And it also means in governorships because if you have a good governor —
HANNITY: And legislature, state legislature.
TRUMP: Well, that’s so important. You know the legislatures have —
HANNITY: That’s where they’re going to fix the voting issues.
TRUMP: We had a lot of great legislators. Unfortunately, the courts refused to listen, even though it’s in the Constitution that they have to. The courts have been very —
HANNITY: H.R. 1, I argue usurps the constitutional authority of state legislatures. Now the big question. Do — two parts. What do you miss the most about being in the White House? And how seriously are you considering running again in 2024?
TRUMP: I miss the most helping people because I can directly help people. That’s why I did it. Hey, look, this has been a very traumatic — I had a great life, great company, great business, no problems.
And now, all I do is people go after you. It’s vicious. It’s horrible. But you know what, I love doing it because I help people. And I’ve helped them more than any president with the cutting of taxes, with the regulations, with right to try. Do you know how big right to try is?
HANNITY: You’re proud of all of this. Huge.
TRUMP: Where you don’t have to travel to all sorts of different continents to try and get something? We have the greatest doctors, the world’s greatest labs. We can use their medicines now. If somebody’s terminally ill, they can sign a quick little document. You can use it and that’s had a huge —
HANNITY: What are you most proud of though?
TRUMP: A lot of things. I’m very proud of the tax cuts. I hope they don’t screw it up because the jobs, you know, we brought back the —
HANNITY: They’re going to screw it up.
TRUMP: — record — I think so. We brought back a record, well it’s still not going to be as high as it was. You know, it’s really 39 percent.
HANNITY: Right.
TRUMP: So it looks like it could be a 25 percent. I brought it down to 21. But I’m very proud of that. I’m very proud of the — and very importantly the regulations. I’m very proud of what i did for the military. I’ve rebuilt the military.
And I’ve added something called Space Force. It’s going to be so powerful, so important. So I’ve added another, think of it, I’ve added to the military. Hasn’t happened since, I guess 75 years since the Air Force. We’ve added —
HANNITY: And the economy pre- COVID. Record low unemployment —
TRUMP: — Space Force. We have the greatest numbers in the history of the world. We had the greatest economy in history of the world. We had the greatest economy. We had the greatest job numbers. We had the greatest — we’re up to 160 million people.
We were never even close to that. And if you think of it, I did it twice because then the whole world went down. We’ve come back stronger than any other country in the world. You know, they used to hit me with Germany and France or this or that.
Well, they’re doing terribly right now. They’re all locked down. It’s a disaster. They’re having riots on their streets. This country is coming back strong. And it is very interesting. Places like Florida and Texas and many others, I mean, I could name many others. I think in almost all cases run by republicans, I think in all cases, but they’ve done so well.
And you look, I saw the other day in Michigan. I would say there’s been nothing as close other than for her husband who is, you know, had free run of the place. I don’t think that there’s been any state more locked up than Michigan.
HANNITY: It’s a disaster. It’s one of the worst.
TRUMP: It’s a disaster. It’s the worst in the United States right now.
HANNITY: Are you running again in 2024? What are the odds? If I were to ask…
TRUMP: That’s like a long time. The odds, the odds, what are the odds? Look…
HANNITY: The odds…
TRUMP: I got tremendous numbers. Nobody has ever gotten the numbers I got. No sitting president has come even close. There’s more popularity now than there was the day before the election because they see how bad things are at the border.
They see what’s going on. They see that their guns are going to be gone, their second amendment. Their taxes are going up. Regulations are going through the roof. Jobs are going to go out.
What you see — you know, this is going to take a little while to show. But if they add all these regulations back, the jobs are going to be gone. Your energy independence is going to be gone. So I say this, I am looking at it very seriously, beyond seriously. From a legal standpoint, I don’t want to really talk about it yet; it’s a little too soon.
Australians could soon be forced to wear ankle bracelets, even if they are fully vaccinated, to ensure they are complying with home quarantine orders.
The draconian idea was made by journalist David Speers during an interview with Employment Minister Stuart Robert about how the government would ensure returning travelers stayed locked up inside their home.
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“What sort of ideas would there be for this? Regular visits, inspections to make sure they’re home, ankle bracelets, some sort of monitoring, how do you do it?” Speers enthusiastically asked the senior government Minister.
“All of that will need to be worked through before a policy prescription goes live,” Robert responded.
Summit.news reports: The minister also mentioned the authoritarian methods that were already in place to enforce the policy.
This is insane!
‘Fully-vaccinated’ Australian’s May be able to avoid hotel quarantine and serve out ‘home quarantine’, with an ankle bracelet.https://t.co/MwOJweMNL5
“The police would turn up at random times to our house, they would call. The Department of Health from various jurisdictions would call,” he stated.
The discussion surrounding how to enforce quarantine is taking place in anticipation of Australia, which has overseen one of the most draconian lockdowns in the developed world, opening up its borders once again.
Home quarantines will remain mandatory on return even for those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
However, this is not the first time that the idea of using electronic ankle bracelets, which are normally used to keep track of suspected criminals, has been raised in a major country.
Back in January, Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt called for the government to use GPS tracking technology to ensure Brits are complying with COVID quarantine measures.
“Daily contact with those asked to self-isolate – using GPS tracking to monitor compliance if necessary as happens in Taiwan and Poland,” said Hunt.
A Catholic church just blocks away from the violent Black Lives Matter and Antifa protests in Minneapolis was set ablaze Monday night.
The fire occurred just two days after Rep. Maxine Waters incited civil unrest in the area.
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The Sacred Heart of Jesus, a Catholic church, is currently burning in the heart of Minneapolis just blocks away from the George Floyd protests. pic.twitter.com/Db9HtzcbHz
Noqreport.com reports: While it has not been confirmed that the blaze was the result of arson or that the Black Lives Matter “activists” around the corner were involved, it would be an odd coincidence considering they have been threatening all week to burn houses of worship to the ground. Meanwhile, cheers rang out from among many of the protesters when the smoke began rising from Sacred Heart of Jesus Polish National Catholic Church.
Nevertheless, the storyline coming from local media is that there are “no indications” the fire was intentionally set. Considering they are still fighting the fire, saying there are no indications of intentionality is a meaningless statement.
According to The Gateway Pundit:
Did Maxine Waters’ incitement to violence cause this? Firefighters responded to a church fire in northeast Minneapolis Monday evening after closing arguments in the Chauvin trial concluded. Tensions are very high after Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters threatened Chauvin jurors and incited mob violence.
Rep. Waters told BLM protesters to “get more confrontational with authorities.” The church is located on the 2200 block of 5th St. NE, about 10 minutes from the protest downtown.
Here’s what was happening blocks away before the fire started:
Arson investigators have been called to the scene. There were reported people in the building when the fire started by they were able to evacuate in time. According to @CrimeWatchMpls:
Fire crews being ordered to evacuate the building. 19:07
Fire crews still on site and hitting "hot spots." Crews will not be entering the structure at this time. 21:19#NEMPLS Sacred Heart of Jesus, a Catholic church.
The death by Fentanyl overdose of Saint George Floyd continues to prompt “peaceful protesters” and BLM “activists” into action. At what point do BLM supporters realize they’re funding domestic terrorists? Or do they already know?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared on Monday that she stands by Rep. Maxine Waters’ calls for protestors to “get more confrontational” if Derek Chauvin is cleared in George Floyd’s death.
“No she doesn’t,” Pelosi snapped at CNN reporter Annie Grayer who asked if Waters should apologize.
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Asked if Waters’ remarks will incite violence, Pelosi breathlessly replied, “Absolutely not.”
Pelosi tells @AnnieGrayerCNN that Waters should NOT apologize for saying protestors should “get more confrontational” if Chauvin is acquitted. “No she doesn’t,” she said when asked if Waters should apologize. “Absolutely not,” she said when asked if her comments incited violence
Rep. Maxine Waters insisted on Monday that she is mostly “nonviolent” and “peaceful” after lawmakers slammed her for inciting violence if the Derek Chauvin trial returns the wrong verdict.
Waters, who was once named the ‘most corrupt member of Congress,’ joined protests outside a police station in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on Saturday where she incited protestors to remain on the streets until Chauvin is convicted.
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“We’re looking for a guilty verdict,” Waters told the angry mob.
“And we’re looking to see if all of the talk that took place and has been taking place after they saw what happened to George Floyd, if nothing does not happen, then we know that we’ve got to not only stay in the street, but we’ve got to fight for justice. But I am very hopeful, and I hope we are going to get a verdict that says ‘guilty, guilty, guilty.’ If we don’t, we cannot go away.”
"I could not rest…without coming here to let the family know…& the people of this community know…that I stand with you and I'm going to stand not only with you but continue to fight in every way that I can for justice." – @RepMaxineWaters attends MN #DaunteWright protest. pic.twitter.com/ReAsGJHpq2
Breitbart.com reports: Waters’ remarks drew condemnation from top Republicans, including House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to take action against Waters for what he described as “inciting violence.”
“Maxine Waters is inciting violence in Minneapolis — just as she has incited it in the past. If Speaker Pelosi doesn’t act against this dangerous rhetoric, I will bring action this week,” McCarthy said on Sunday.
Maxine Waters is inciting violence in Minneapolis — just as she has incited it in the past. If Speaker Pelosi doesn’t act against this dangerous rhetoric, I will bring action this week.
Waters is now moving quickly to quell the firestorm sparked by her comments.
“I am nonviolent,” Waters told TheGrio, before accusing Republican lawmakers of twisting her call to action for political gain.
“Republicans will jump on any word, any line and try to make it fit their message and their cause for denouncing us and denying us, basically calling us violent … any time they see an opportunity to seize on a word, so they do it and they send a message to all of the white supremacists, the KKK, the Oath Keepers, the [Proud] Boys and all of that, how this is a time for [Republicans] to raise money on [Democrats] backs,” she continued.
“This is a time for [Republicans] to keep telling our constituents that [Democrats] are the enemy and they do that time and time again,” she added. “But that does not deter me from speaking truth to power. I am not intimidated. I am not afraid, and I do what needs to be done.”
On the topic of whether she is worried about the possibility of violence if Chauvin is acquitted, Waters said her main concern is the possible “disappointment and hopelessness” black Americans will feel over such a ruling.
“I’m worried about the disappointment of particularly the young people and young Black males who are more and more frightened of the police, afraid to drive their cars when they see police coming and thinking that their lives will be in danger,” Waters stated. “I’m afraid that it further helps to cement the feeling that somehow justice just does not work for us in America. And so whatever that causes, it will cause … I don’t know what will happen, but I know that disappointment and hopelessness is not a good thing.”
Defense attorney Eric Nelson is delivering his closing argument in the Chauvin trial Monday, arguing that Floyd died of underlying heart issues and the use of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Judge Peter Cahill, who is presiding over the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, slammed Rep. Maxine Waters for disrespecting the rule of law after she attempted to incite a riot.
“This goes back to what I’ve been saying from the beginning,” Judge Cahill said.
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“I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch and our function. I think if they want to give their opinions, they should do so in a respectful and in a manner that is consistent with their oath to the Constitution. To respect a co-equal branch of government. Their failure to do so I think is abhorrent, but I don’t think it has prejudiced us with additional material that would prejudice this jury. They have been told not to watch the news. I trust they are following those instructions, and that there is not in any way a prejudice to the defendant.”
At the end, Judge Cahill declared, “A congresswoman’s opinion really doesn’t matter a whole lot.”
Lawandcrime.com reports: Chauvin is on trial after he was seen on video around the world kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, 46, who was handcuffed and prone on the ground. Prosecutors said Chauvin did this for nine minutes and 29 seconds, even as the victim cried out in pain and fell unresponsive. He refused to get off at the behest of outraged bystanders because of “ego-driven pride,” prosecutor Steve Schleicher said in closing arguments on Monday. Chauvin’s defense lawyer Eric Nelson maintained that Floyd died from a combination of drug use and health problems, but not the stress of the arrest.
Waters visited nearby Brooklyn Center, Minnesota this weekend. It was the site of a recent, fatal police shooting, this time of local man Daunte Wright, 20, who, like Floyd, was Black.
“We’ve got to stay on the street, and we’ve got to get more active,” Waters said. “We’ve got to get more confrontational. We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Waters was “talk[ing] about confrontation in the manner of the civil rights movement,” not inciting violence.
The jury’s deliberations in the Chauvin trial have begun. He faces charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
Former president Donald Trump says he is seriously considering a 2024 presidential run.
“I am looking at it very seriously, beyond seriously,” Mr Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “From a legal standpoint, I don’t want to really talk about it yet, it’s a little too soon.”
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“The odds, the odds. What are the odds? Look, I’ve got tremendous numbers. Nobody has ever gotten the numbers I’ve got. No sitting president has come even close. There is more popularity now than there was the day before the election because they see how bad things are at the border. They see what is going on. They see their guns are going to be gone…their Second Amendment. Their taxes are going up. Regulations are going through the roof. Jobs are going to go up.”
Trump added “It’s going to take a little while to show, but if they add all these regulations back, the jobs are going to be gone. Your energy independence is going to be gone. But I say this.. I am looking at it very seriously, beyond seriously. From a legal standpoint, I don’t want to really talk about it yet.”
The Health Secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed that the UK will roll out booster vaccines later this year as he announced that ten million people have now had their second doses.
According to Hancock the uptake of the vaccines had so far has been ‘astonishingly high’ and that the country remains on track to offer a first jab to all adults by the end of July.
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He then warned that new variants of the virus were the biggest threat to Britain’s newfound security.
The Mail Online reports: The booster rollout, expected to come in the autumn, will offer people a third jab that tackles strains like the South African one which may weaken the original vaccines.
Everyone over the age of 50 has been offered a vaccine already, with the NHS now targeting those in their late 40s for the limited supply of first doses available this month.
People getting their second vaccine doses now are mostly those who got their first in mid-to-late January – people aged 70 or above and others in the high risk groups.
Mr Hancock said in Parliament that three quarters of over-75s have had a vaccine as well as four fifths of over-80s.
He said the Government is ‘ramping up plans for a booster shot to make sure our vaccines stay ahead of the virus’.
AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna are known to already be working on updated jabs that are tweaked so they can tackle mutated variants.
All the current jabs are based on the original version of the virus but newer variants look different and therefore require slightly different-shaped immune cells.
The current jabs still work but are feared to be slightly less effective against these strains.
Mr Hancock said: ‘We’ve already procured enough vaccine doses to begin the booster shots later this year.
‘We will be working with our current vaccine suppliers and new suppliers, like the CureVac partnership, to work out which vaccines will be effective as a booster shot and to design new vaccines specifically targeted at the variants of concern – like the variant first found in South Africa.
‘Our goal is to ensure the vaccine protects against this dreadful disease, whatever it throws at us, to keep us safe and to protect our much-cherished return to normal way of life.’
It is not yet clear when the second rollout will take place, nor whether it will include all adults or just those in the clinically vulnerable groups.
The Constitution and our civil rights have been casualties of the partisan Left’s assault on President Trump. Rep. Adam Schiff’s “Ukraine call” impeachment investigation of Trump included controversial and, as best as I can tell, unprecedented secret subpoenas issued for phone records, including those of Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s lawyer. The subpoenas led to the publication of the private phone records of Giuliani, Congressman Devin Nunes, journalist John Solomon, Trump attorney Jay Sekulow, attorney Victoria Toensing, and other American citizens.
In December 2019, Judicial Watch filed a federal lawsuit against Schiff and the House Intelligence Committee under the public’s common-law right of public access to examine government records after it received no response to our December 6, 2019, records request for subpoenas and related records. As our legal team put it in our lawsuit, “The records are of critical public importance as the subpoenas were issued without any lawful basis and violated the rights of numerous private citizens.”
In response, Schiff’s House lawyers claimed a smorgasbord of secrecy excuses: “sovereign immunity;” “Speech or Debate Clause” privilege; immunity from the Freedom of Information Act and transparency law. They claimed that the records are secret, and that Judicial Watch and the public do not need to see them.
The Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it is reversing the Trump administration’s decision to end taxpayer funding for experimental research that uses fetal tissue derived from aborted babies.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency under the authority of HHS, announced Friday an “Update on Changes to NIH Requirements Regarding Proposed Human Fetal Tissue Research”
…
Last week, legal watchdog organization Judicial Watch provided a nearly 600-page report that included uncovered emails of conversations between Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employees and the California-based biomedical company Advanced Bioscience Resources (ABR). The emails revealed the U.S. government had been buying and trafficking “fresh” aborted baby body parts.
According to the report, the FDA purchased the body parts, which were derived from babies aborted at up to 24-weeks’ gestation, in order to engineer humanized mice and perform experimental drug research.
The Federalist reported on the Judicial Watch revelation:
Emails between FDA officials and ABR employees reveal disturbing conversations as they collaborate to buy and sell aborted fetuses. Records indicate ABR was paid $12,000 upfront per baby, some survivable out of the womb, between the gestational age of 16-24 weeks. Most purchases are for intact thymuses and livers shipped “Fresh; on wet ice.”
With the callousness of picking a cut of meat from a butcher shop, an FDA doctor requests tissue samples be procured from a baby boy, as they claim “It is strongly preferred to have a male fetus if at all possible … [but] undetermined sex or female is better than no tissue.”
Government watchdog Judicial Watch has officially filed a complaint with the House Office of Congressional Ethics against Democrat Congresswoman Maxine Waters after she called for violent rioters to “get more confrontational” over the weekend.
“Ms. Waters took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, which includes the rights accorded to Officer Chauvin to a fair and impartial trial by a jury of his peers and to due process. Ms. Waters’ inflammatory comments that pressure the jury, while encouraging rioters already engaged in rampant destruction of property and attacks on police officers, to ‘get more confrontational’ are irresponsible and dangerous incitement by a Member of Congress,” Judicial Watch released in a statement Tuesday. “House Rule 23, Clause 1, of the Code of Official Conduct of the Rules of the House of Representatives states: ‘A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House shall conduct himself at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.'”
“Ms. Waters’ conduct surely does not reflect creditably on the House. By encouraging violence in response to a ‘guilty’ jury verdict, she seeks to undermine the Constitution’s guarantees and protections, and fosters the breakdown of civil society. Such dangerous and reckless rhetoric demands investigation,” the statement continues.
The group also noted Waters’ pattern of behavior and noted her calls in 2018 to “get up in the faces” of Trump cabinet members. They filed an ethics complaint against the Congresswoman for that behavior as well.
(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch today announced it filed acomplaintwith the chairman of the House Office of Congressional Ethics against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) for violating House ethics rules by encouraging violence and attempting to intimidate the jury in the trial of Derek Chauvin.
The complaint argues that Rep. Maxine Waters encouraged violence by urging protestors to “get more confrontational” if Chauvin is found not guilty. She told the crowd:
Well, we’ve got to stay on the street and we’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational. We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business.
Judicial Watch notes that Waters’ statements seem to be in violation of House ethics rules that require members to conduct themselves “at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.”
In the complaint to the Office of Congressional Ethics chairman, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton writes:
Ms. Waters took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, which includes the rights accorded to Officer Chauvin to a fair and impartial trial by a jury of his peers and to due process. Ms. Waters’ inflammatory comments that pressure the jury, while encouraging rioters already engaged in rampant destruction of property and attacks on police officers, to “get more confrontational” are irresponsible and dangerous incitement by a Member of Congress.
House Rule 23, Clause 1, of the Code of Official Conduct of the Rules of the House of Representatives states: “A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House shall conduct himself at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.”
Ms. Waters’ conduct surely does not reflect creditably on the House. By encouraging violence in response to a “guilty” jury verdict, she seeks to undermine the Constitution’s guarantees and protections, and fosters the breakdown of civil society. Such dangerous and reckless rhetoric demands investigation.
More disturbingly still, this behavior by Rep. Waters represents a pattern of conduct. In June 2018, Ms. Waters exhorted protesters to form “crowds” to “push back” on President Trump’s cabinet members, saying, “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them! And you tell them that they are not welcome, anymore, anywhere.”
That reprehensible conduct prompted Judicial Watch to file an earlier complaint with OCE, which has been inexcusably ignored.
Rep. Maxine Waters’ comments, in the least, fall under the expansive standard for “incitement” set by the House in its snap impeachment proceedings against President Trump.
Judicial Watch calls upon the Office of Congressional Ethics to launch an investigation into Ms. Waters’ comments immediately.
“Rep. Maxine Waters not only incited violence, she is also attempting to subvert the legal system by intimidating the jury in the trial of Derek Chauvin,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Maxine Waters is a repeat offender and it is urgent that the House Ethics Committee quickly acts to hold her accountable.”
In June 2018, Judicial Watch filed a House ethics complaint against Waters for inciting violence and assaults on former-President Trump’s cabinet.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has long complained about police in sanctuary cities that fail to honor its detainers, instead releasing serious criminals in the U.S. rather than turn them over to get deported. Now two states are suing the Homeland Security agency for failing to issue detainer requests for convicted felons in the country illegally, forcing local authorities to free them after completing their sentence rather than turning them over to the feds for removal. It seems that the tables have turned under the Biden administration, according to the lawsuit, filed this month by officials in Texas and Louisiana.
The states claim that ICE has reversed a Trump era policy and is not issuing detainer requests for dangerous illegal aliens imprisoned in their jurisdiction. “As a result, many convicted criminal aliens have been released to society after their sentences, contrary to Congress’s mandate that they be detained pending their removal from the United States,” according to their complaint, filed this month in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas Victoria Division. Besides ICE, the defendants include the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and various officials at the DHS agencies. The lawsuit begins by stating that “the Biden Administration is refusing to take custody of criminal aliens despite federal statutes requiring it to do so.” Instead, the document reads, defendants “have issued and implemented unlawful agency memoranda that allow criminal aliens already convicted of felony offenses to roam free in the United States. Such aliens belong in federal custody, as Congress required.”
Adding insult to injury, officials in the Lone Star State reveal in the court document that the Biden administration has taken the extra step of revoking ICE detainer requests for a multitude of illegal immigrants convicted of felonies and serving sentences in prisons operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Many were found guilty in a U.S. court of serious drug offenses, including possession, manufacturing, and sale. “President Biden’s outright refusal to enforce the law is exacerbating an unprecedented border crisis,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “By failing to take custody of criminal aliens and giving no explanation for this reckless policy change, the Biden Administration is demonstrating a blatant disregard for Texans’ and Americans’ safety. Law and order must be immediately upheld and enforced to ensure the safety of our communities. Dangerous and violent illegal aliens must be removed from our communities as required by federal law.” In 2019 Texas housed nearly 9,000 undocumented criminal aliens at a cost of more than $152 million, according to the lawsuit.
In Louisiana ICE is not removing individuals subject to mandatory deportation, the complaint says, causing convicted felons incarcerated in state facilities to be released in local communities throughout the Bayou State. Louisiana, more than any other state, has greater risk due to the large number of local jails that are used to house detainees prior to removal, according to Attorney General Jeff Landry. “The President’s refusal to enforce the law only worsens an already dire border crisis,” Landry said. “Law and order must prevail; dangerous and violent criminal aliens must not be allowed to roam free in our communities.” Both states assert that the administration is violating binding agreements with DHS to assist in immigration enforcement and national security missions as well the Constitution, Immigration and Nationality Act and Administrative Procedure Act, which require the government to post proposed substantive rule changes in the Federal Register and allow the public to comment on them before enacting them.
For years ICE has slammed sanctuary cities nationwide for refusing to honor a local-federal partnership known as 287(g) that notifies the agency of jail inmates in the country illegally so that they can be deported after serving time for state crimes. Before Biden became president, ICE repeatedly issued statements reminding sanctuary cities and states that when law enforcement agencies fail to honor immigration detainers and release serious criminal offenders onto the streets, it undermines its ability protect public safety and carry out its mission. The agency even launched a billboard campaign seeking the public’s help in capturing felons released by one state’s sanctuary policy.
In 2019 Rep. Adam Schiff, Chairman of the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, secretly issued congressional subpoenas for phone records as part of his impeachment abuses President Trump.
A lower court ruling in our suit upheld the secrecy of the subpoenas. We of course challenged that in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. A hearing was held on March 24, and this week we released a transcript of the oral arguments.
Some background:
Our lawsuit sought the controversial impeachment-related subpoenas for phone records, including those of Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s lawyer. (Schiff and the Committee are being represented, using your tax dollars, by the Office of General Counsel for the House of Representatives.)
The subpoenas led to the publication of the private phone records of Giuliani, Congressman Devin Nunes, journalist John Solomon, Trump attorney Jay Sekulow, attorney Victoria Toensing, and other American citizens.
Schiff and the Committee claim “sovereign immunity;” “Speech or Debate Clause” privilege; immunity from FOIA and transparency law; that the records are secret; and that Judicial Watch and the public do not need to see them. We are appealing the lower court decision, which suggested that Schiff and the House have “absolute” immunity from inquiries about the subpoenas.
Our senior attorney James Peterson argued to the three-judge panel:
This case is about shedding light on unprecedented and illegitimate congressional subpoenas. The extraordinary subpoenas at issue represent a supposedly unlimited government surveillance power and an unlimited ability by Congress to, at their whim,invade the privacy of any American.
***
Congressman Schiff secretly subpoenaed the phone records of a number of private citizens from telephone companies. He did not provide notice to these individuals in advance that their phone records were being sought. He did not subpoena the phone records directly from the citizens. Instead, he subpoenaed the phone companies for the records, preventing any opportunity for the private citizens to seek court review, as would happen in any other case in where the government is seeking this kind of information about any citizen.
In response to a House attorney’s argument that the materials be kept secret to protect the privacy of the targets of the subpoenas, one of the appellate judges remarked:
Well, I do think it’s, if not ironic, noteworthy that one of the interests you’ve just put forward is the invasion of privacy when the whole claim of Judicial Watch is that this Committee invaded the privacy of private citizens in the first place.
The Pelosi/Schiff House asserts it has an unlimited government surveillance power and an unlimited ability to invade the privacy of any American with zero accountability and transparency. The courts should reject Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi’s corrupt cover-up of the unconstitutional subpoenas that abused the civil rights of then-President Trump, Rudy Giuliani, journalists and other American citizens.
Judicial Watch Sues for Record About Reparations Program in Evanston, Illinois
One major agenda item for the extremist Left is “reparations” for slavery. To advance this radical agenda, the city of Evanston, Illinois pushed forward a reparations program that raises significant legal and constitutional concerns. Judicial Watch just filed an Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the city for records about its controversial, taxpayer-funded “reparations” program (Judicial Watch v. City of Evanston(No. 2021 CH 01761)).
On March 22, 2021, the Evanston City Council adopted Resolution 37-R27, authorizing the implementation of the Evanston Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program and Program Budget. The program allocated $10 million to provide $25,000 to Black/African American individuals who are either Evanston residents or direct descendants of Evanston residents to the exclusion of all other residents or direct descendants of residents.
Concerned that this program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution as well as other state and federal laws, we opened an investigation into the program and requested information under the Illinois FOIA. Specifically, we requested:
A. Records identifying discriminatory housing policies and practices that the Restorative Housing Reparations Program seeks to remedy;
B. Records identifying the ways in which the Restorative Housing Reparations Program will remedy discriminatory housing policies and practices;
C. Records identifying all methods of remedying discriminatory housing policies and practices the Evanston City Council examined before enacting the Restorative Housing Reparations Program;
D. Records identifying all reasons why the Evanston City Council enacted the Restorative Housing Reparations Program instead of any alternative method of remedying discriminatory housing policies and practices;
E. Records relating to the development of criteria by which recipients of Restorative Housing Reparations Program funds will be selected;
F. Records identifying the ways in which providing Restorative Housing Reparations Program funds to the selected recipients will remedy discriminatory housing policies and practices; and
G. Records relating to any other discrimination of any kind, regardless of racial group, the Evanston City Council considered remedying as part of the Restorative Housing Reparations Program or any other proposed reparation programs.
After Evanston officials failed to search for and provide the requested records, we sued in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. Our Illinois lawyer is Christine Svenson of Svenson Law Offices in Chicago, Illinois.
A government program that provides taxpayer money to individuals based on race plainly violates the law. The City of Evanston is unlawfully hiding records about its extremist reparations program that will spend tax dollars in a racially discriminatory manner.
Dozens Released From Gitmo Who Resumed Terrorism Remain At Large
We can only wonder what our national security bureaucrats are thinking — if they’re thinking at all — when we watch them carelessly deal with Islamist terrorists who have been captured and then let go, only to return to their chosen trade. Our Corruption Chronicles blog has the latest.
Dozens of captives verified by the U.S. to reengage in terrorist activity after being released from the military prison in Guantanamo Bay are at large, a recently declassified intelligence report reveals. Recidivism among detainees freed from the compound at the U.S. Naval base in southeast Cuba—also known as Gitmo or GTMO—is nothing new and has been well documented for years by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). In its latest disturbing update, ODNI discloses that the whereabouts of 69 former Gitmo detainees that the government is certain returned to terrorism is unknown.
In all, 729 detainees have been released from Gitmo since the prison opened nearly two decades ago and the ODNI says 125 have been confirmed as reengaging in terrorism, though the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) put the figure at 130. The top security facility houses the world’s most dangerous Islamic terrorists, including 9/11 masterminds Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi as well as USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. “Based on trends identified during the past 17 years, we assess that some detainees currently at GTMO will seek to reengage in terrorist or insurgent activities after they are transferred,” the latest ODNI report states, reiterating language used in past reports. “Transfers to countries with ongoing conflicts and internal instability as well as recruitment by insurgent and terrorist organizations could pose an increased risk of reengagement.”
There has been no shortage of examples of Gitmo captives rejoining terrorist missions after the U.S. let them go. Judicial Watch has reported on it extensively after obtaining both domestic and international documents involving the matter. Examples of recidivism among freed Gitmo jihadists include dozens who have rejoined Al Qaeda in Yemen, the country where the 2009 Christmas Day airline bomber proudly trained, and several high-ranking Al Qaeda militants in Yemen involved in a sophisticated scheme to send bombs on a U.S.-bound cargo plane. A Gitmo alum named Mullah Abdul Rauf, who once led a Taliban unit, established the first Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) base in Afghanistan. Another, Sabir Mahfouz Lahmar, was arrested in France as part of a terrorist cell that operated an ISIS recruiting network. The Obama administration released Lahmar even though his Department of Defense (DOD) file says he has links to “multiple terrorist plots” and as a member of the Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA) plotted with Al Qaeda to attack the United States Embassy in Sarajevo.
The George W. Bush administration also released quite a few Gitmo captives confirmed by the ODNI to be “directly involved in terrorist or insurgent activities.” Among them is a Saudi national, Ibrahim al-Rubaysh, repatriated under a Saudi Arabian “rehabilitation” program that supposedly reforms Gitmo jihadists but instead has served as a training camp for future terrorists. Years after releasing al-Rubaysh, a known Al Qaeda operative, the U.S. government put him on a global terrorist list and offered $5 million for information on his whereabouts! The State Department even classified the “senior leader” of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. “He serves as a senior advisor for AQAP operational planning and is involved in the planning of attacks,” according to a State Department announcement. “He has served as a senior AQAP sharia official since 2013, and as a senior AQAP sharia official, al-Rubaysh provides the justification for attacks conducted by AQAP. In addition, he has made public statements, including one in August 2014 where he called on Muslims to wage war against the United States.”
Just a few months ago, the DOD cleared for release an Al Qaeda operative classified as a “forever prisoner” because he was once considered too dangerous to be freed. His name is Said Salih Said Nashir and his DOD file says he has ties to 9/11 conspirator Walid Bin Attash and trained at the infamous al-Faruq camp in Afghanistan to participate in terrorist operations against U.S. forces in Karachi, Pakistan and inside the U.S. The document labels Nashir a high risk likely to pose a threat to the U.S. A few years ago the Office of Military Commission’s parole board denied the Yemen national release, determining that “continued law of war detention of the detainee remains necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States.”
As the southern border crisis worsens, the latest U.S. Border Patrol figures show the agency has arrested more than twice as many criminal migrants in the first six months of fiscal year 2021 than it did in all of 2020. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and the overwhelmed frontline agency is getting slammed with an unprecedented influx of illegal immigrants as the Biden administration extends the welcome matt. Open border groups and their allies in the administration like to portray the migrants as impoverished victims of Latin American violence desperate for a better life in the melting pot to the north.
The data tells a different story. In the first half of this fiscal year, the Border Patrol apprehended 5,018 “criminal aliens” compared to 2,438 in all of fiscal year 2020. The agency defines criminal aliens as individuals who have been convicted of one or more crimes, whether in the U.S. or abroad, prior to interdiction by federal agents. “Records checks of available law enforcement databases following the apprehension of an alien may reveal a history of criminal conviction(s),” the agency explains. “That conviction information is recorded in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection database,” which eventually is released to the public. Of interesting note is that the data, which covers fiscal years 2016 through the present, show a steady decline in criminal alien arrests during the Trump administration after a peak of 12,842 arrests in 2016 under Obama. By 2017 it dipped to 8,531 then 6,698 in 2018 and 4,260 in 2019 before the low of 2,438 last year. At this rate, the Biden administration is set to bring the number of apprehended convicted migrants back up to a new high.
The criminal aliens busted by the Border Patrol in the last few months include 982 convicted of possessing illegal drugs or trafficking, 576 convicted of assault, battery, and domestic violence, 832 guilty of driving under the influence, 381 convicted of burglary, robbery, larceny, theft, and fraud, 265 sex offenders and 162 guilty of Illegal weapons possession, transport, and trafficking. The stats also reveal that 2,765 of the criminal aliens arrested in the first half of this fiscal year were previously deported after illegal entry or illegal reentry. Additionally, seizures of methamphetamine along the Mexican border increased an astounding 91% between February and March, according to Customs and Border Patrol figures. Heroin seizures went up 22% during the same period.
The situation along the Mexican border has reached a boiling point, with a record number of illegal immigrants arriving in just a few months thanks to outrageous Biden administration policies. The barrage is crushing frontline federal agents, among them veterans who tell Judicial Watch they have never seen anything like it. This includes an unparalleled number of minors, who under federal law must be transferred to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The government classifies them as Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) and there are around 11,551—and counting—in HHS shelters and another 5,000 in the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol, according to the government. The agency funds and oversees around 170 state-licensed care facilities to house the minors when they arrive from foreign countries south of the border.
Even sleepy little towns unaccustomed to the devastating impact large influxes have on bigger cities near major crossings are being impacted by the current storm of migrants. Among them is the usually tranquil Arizona town of Sonoita, population of about 800. Judicial Watch interviewed veteran ranchers and business owners in the aftermath of a series of crimes committed by illegal aliens and human smugglers (coyotes) that left residents shocked. In just a few days there were two home invasion robberies, and two local stores were burglarized by a group of illegal immigrants who had just been released into their community by the U.S. Border Patrol in the predawn hours. The problem is only getting worse, locals say, because federal agents are overwhelmed with the onslaught of migrants and more are being released into communities near the border.
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the city of Evanston, Illinois for records about its controversial, taxpayer-funded “reparations” program (Judicial Watch v. City of Evanston(No. 2021 CH 01761)).
On March 22, 2021, the Evanston City Council adopted Resolution 37-R27, authorizing the implementation of the Evanston Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program and Program Budget. The program allocated $10 million to provide $25,000 to Black/African American individuals who are either Evanston residents or direct descendants of Evanston residents to the exclusion of all other residents or direct descendants of residents.
Concerned that this program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution as well as other state and federal laws, Judicial Watch opened an investigation into the program and requested information under the Illinois FOIA. Specifically, Judicial Watch requested:
A. Records identifying discriminatory housing policies and practices that the Restorative Housing Reparations Program seeks to remedy;
B. Records identifying the ways in which the Restorative Housing Reparations Program will remedy discriminatory housing policies and practices; C. Records identifying all methods of remedying discriminatory housing policies and practices the Evanston City Council examined before enacting the Restorative Housing Reparations Program;
D. Records identifying all reasons why the Evanston City Council enacted the Restorative Housing Reparations Program instead of any alternative method of remedying discriminatory housing policies and practices;
E. Records relating to the development of criteria by which recipients of Restorative Housing Reparations Program funds will be selected;
F. Records identifying the ways in which providing Restorative Housing Reparations Program funds to the selected recipients will remedy discriminatory housing policies and practices; and
G. Records relating to any other discrimination of any kind, regardless of racial group, the Evanston City Council considered remedying as part of the Restorative Housing Reparations Program or any other proposed reparation programs.
After Evanston officials failed to search for and provide the requested records, Judicial Watch sued in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.
“A government program that provides taxpayer money to individuals based on race plainly violates the law,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The City of Evanston is unlawfully hiding records about its extremist reparations program that will spend tax dollars in a racially-discriminatory manner.”
Judicial Watch’s Illinois lawyer is Christine Svenson of Svenson Law Offices in Chicago, Illinois.
Dozens of captives verified by the U.S. to reengage in terrorist activity after being released from the military prison in Guantanamo Bay are at large, a recently declassified intelligence report reveals. Recidivism among detainees freed from the compound at the U.S. Naval base in southeast Cuba—also known as Gitmo or GTMO—is nothing new and has been well documented for years by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). In its latest disturbing update, ODNI discloses that the whereabouts of 69 former Gitmo detainees that the government is certain returned to terrorism is unknown.
In all, 729 detainees have been released from Gitmo since the prison opened nearly two decades ago and the ODNI says 125 have been confirmed as reengaging in terrorism, though the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) put the figure at 130. The top security facility houses the world’s most dangerous Islamic terrorists, including 9/11 masterminds Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi as well as USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. “Based on trends identified during the past 17 years, we assess that some detainees currently at GTMO will seek to reengage in terrorist or insurgent activities after they are transferred,” the latest ODNI report states, reiterating language used in past reports. “Transfers to countries with ongoing conflicts and internal instability as well as recruitment by insurgent and terrorist organizations could pose an increased risk of reengagement.”
There has been no shortage of examples of Gitmo captives rejoining terrorist missions after the U.S. let them go. Judicial Watch has reported on it extensively after obtaining both domestic and international documents involving the matter. Examples of recidivism among freed Gitmo jihadists include dozens who have rejoined Al Qaeda in Yemen, the country where the 2009 Christmas Day airline bomber proudly trained, and several high-ranking Al Qaeda militants in Yemen involved in a sophisticated scheme to send bombs on a U.S.-bound cargo plane. A Gitmo alum named Mullah Abdul Rauf, who once led a Taliban unit, established the first Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) base in Afghanistan. Another, Sabir Mahfouz Lahmar, was arrested in France as part of a terrorist cell that operated an ISIS recruiting network. The Obama administration released Lahmar even though his Department of Defense (DOD) file says he has links to “multiple terrorist plots” and as a member of the Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA) plotted with Al Qaeda to attack the United States Embassy in Sarajevo.
The George W. Bush administration also released quite a few Gitmo captives confirmed by the ODNI to be “directly involved in terrorist or insurgent activities.” Among them is a Saudi national, Ibrahim al-Rubaysh, repatriated under a Saudi Arabian “rehabilitation” program that supposedly reforms Gitmo jihadists but instead has served as a training camp for future terrorists. Years after releasing al-Rubaysh, a known Al Qaeda operative, the U.S. government put him on a global terrorist list and offered $5 million for information on his whereabouts! The State Department even classified the “senior leader” of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. “He serves as a senior advisor for AQAP operational planning and is involved in the planning of attacks,” according to a State Department announcement. “He has served as a senior AQAP sharia official since 2013, and as a senior AQAP sharia official, al-Rubaysh provides the justification for attacks conducted by AQAP. In addition, he has made public statements, including one in August 2014 where he called on Muslims to wage war against the United States.”
Just a few months ago, the DOD cleared for release an Al Qaeda operative classified as a “forever prisoner” because he was once considered too dangerous to be freed. His name is Said Salih Said Nashir and his DOD file says he has ties to 9/11 conspirator Walid Bin Attash and trained at the infamous al-Faruq camp in Afghanistan to participate in terrorist operations against U.S. forces in Karachi, Pakistan and inside the U.S. The document labels Nashir a high risk likely to pose a threat to the U.S. A few years ago the Office of Military Commission’s parole board denied the Yemen national release, determining that “continued law of war detention of the detainee remains necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States.”
“Hunter Biden knows exactly what he was doing, and so he should be held fully accountable for any misconduct.We need to know if his father was benefitting … as the emails show … from Hunter Biden’s shady operations.”
Judicial Watch is working hard to get more information on the Biden Family scandals, undertaking “the basic investigations” that Congress and the Justice Department are seemingly unwilling to do, Fitton noted Friday. Starting with Hunter Biden’s laptop, “the Justice Department refuses to do anything significant against Joe Biden despite the evidence that he’s directly implicated in his son’s racketeering.” Fitton argued that “by refusing to do anything significant relating to Hunter Biden investigation, the Justice Department, per usual, practically speaking took sides in the election fight.”
As Fitton noted Friday, Hunter Biden was given “cushy jobs and special deals with the Chinese Communists and Burisma while his father was Vice President.” Hunter Biden also “did not rule out” that the laptop currently being investigated by the FBI, was his. In addition to Hunter Biden’sadmissions, the evidence already gathered by the FBI shows “that law enforcement has a good enough reason to open investigations.” As Fitton further explained, supporting these investigations is not about supporting a political agenda against the Bidens. “No,” Fitton continued, “there’s evidence that there was a pay-to-play scheme, there was racketeering involving President Biden and his family…”
Regardless of the evidence already gathered, the Justice Department has yet to establish a “special counsel for Joe Biden’s family corruption issues,” Fitton stated Friday. “I’m not naïve in the sense that a special counsel is going to solve all of the Biden corruption issues and start prosecuting people,” he explained, “but the process ought to at least take place so that there is at least a modicum of accountability.” Fitton concluded in stating that “there needs to be a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) investigation of the Biden family.”
As per usual, Judicial Watch is doing the heavy lifting, with at least a dozen lawsuits and “dozens of Freedom of Information Act requests tied to this issue.” Support Judicial Watch today if you’re concerned about the scandals surrounding President Biden and his family.
Hours after indicating that he felt that the evidence for conviction was “overwhelming” in the murder trial of a former Minneapolis police officer, President Joe Biden called the death of George Floyd “murder in the full light of day” in an address to the nation, calling for swift passage of the police reform legislation that bears Floyd’s name.
“George Floyd was murdered almost a year ago. There is meaningful police reform legislation in his name,” Biden said, speaking from the White House on Tuesday evening. “It shouldn’t take a whole year to get this done.”
The president’s address came after a Minnesota jury voted to convict Derek Chauvin on all counts for the murder of Floyd, a Black man who died after Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes last May. Floyd’s death, captured on video by a bystander who later testified against Chauvin, ignited nationwide unrest last summer and sparked the largest racial justice protest movement in decades.
“‘I can’t breathe.’ Those were George Floyd’s last words,” Biden said. “We can’t let those words die with him—we have to keep hearing those words. We must not turn away. We can’t turn away.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking before Biden, acknowledged that Chauvin’s conviction was a step in the right direction for police accountability, but far from enough.
“Today we feel a sigh of relief. Still, it cannot take away the pain. A measure of justice isn’t the same as equal justice,” Harris said. “We still have work to do.”
Harris called for passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which she introduced as a senator last year, which she said “would hold law enforcement accountable and help build trust between law enforcement and our communities.”
The act, Harris said, would be “part of George Floyd’s legacy… not as a panacea for every problem, but as a start.”
The bill has strong Democratic support in both chambers of Congress, but faces a tough road ahead in the U.S. Senate, where Republicans have vowed to filibuster the legislation.
Earlier on Tuesday, Biden indicated his support for Chauvin’s conviction, telling reporters after an Oval Office meeting with Latino lawmakers that he was “praying the verdict is the right verdict.”
“It’s overwhelming, in my view,” Biden said of the evidence against Chauvin, in response to a question about what he would say to the Floyd family ahead of the jury’s decision.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki later told reporters that Biden was not weighing in on the verdict, as it would appear, but instead “conveying what many people are feeling across the country, which is compassion for the family, what a difficult time this is, what a difficult time this is for many Americans across the country who have been watching this trial very closely.”
In a phone call with members of the Floyd family, Biden, joined by first lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, promised that he would push for passage of the criminal justice reform bill that bears Floyd’s name—calling it one of the best chances the nation has to combat racial injustice in law enforcement.
“We’ve got a shot to change the world, for real,” Biden said.
On Capitol Hill, Black lawmakers watched the trial closely, and many feared that an acquittal on some or all of the charges would reignite racial tensions that have already been exacerbated by the recent shooting deaths by police of Daunte Wright, 20, and Adam Toledo, 13, in separate incidents.
After the verdict announcement, members of the Congressional Black Caucus and their staff gathered in a room off the House floor, huddled around laptops and phones as they awaited the judge. As he declared Chauvin guilty on each count, lawmakers sighed with relief. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the third-ranking House Democrat and a close Biden ally, watched with an aide on his phone. When Chauvin was taken away in handcuffs in Minneapolis, the CBC members walked out of the room, hugging and locking arms as they walked outside to a press conference.
One CBC member, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), said the mood among his colleagues was one of emotional relief, but mostly recognition at how much deeply-rooted injustice and systemic racism remains. “The mood is pretty somber, man,” said Bowman. “I mean, maybe a slight sense of relief, but more like, there’s still so much work to do, and still thinking about how many people did not get justice.”
The freshman lawmaker, a former school principal in the Bronx who has spoken of his own beating at the hands of police, said it was “surreal” to take in the verdict from within the halls of Congress. “To stand there with the entire CBC, Speaker Pelosi, to collectively give remarks on the verdict is surreal,” he said. “Even I was moved by my colleagues—like, tears.”
Three New York City men allegedly stole more than $30 million in cash and other valuables as part of an elaborate money-laundering scheme that involved using spy cameras to break into safe deposit boxes around the world.
The Department of Justice on Tuesday charged Val Cooper, 56, Alex Levin, 52, and Gari Smith, 49, with money laundering and conspiracy, as well as conspiracy to violate the Travel Act after they allegedly stole the massive sum from banks’ safe deposit boxes between March 2015 and October 2019. Some of the banks were in Ukraine, Russia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Latvia, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan—businesses that “appeared to lack security features, including video surveillance cameras in certain areas,” prosecutors said.
The feds allege Cooper was the ringleader of the criminal enterprise, while Levin used his bank accounts in the United States to buy the sophisticated camera equipment used during the heists—and later launder the proceeds. All three Brooklyn men were arrested on Tuesday morning.
“The crimes we allege in this indictment read like something straight out of Hollywood fiction,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney said in a statement. “The thieves used sophisticated tools to thwart security systems at foreign banks and tried to cover their tracks by laundering money through U.S. banks. However, thanks to the outstanding work of our FBI Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force and our international partners, these criminals now face real federal charges and the possibility of real-time in federal prison.”
According to court documents, the group sought out banks with weak security systems, and then would pose as a customer, renting a safe deposit box in order to gain entry into the room they would eventually hit. Once inside, the group would use a series of “sophisticated camera equipment (often a borescope typically used in medical procedures)” to “take photographs of the inside of safe deposit box locks,” prosecutors said in court documents.
“Another co-conspirator used these photographs to create duplicate keys, and then other co-conspirators used the duplicate keys to open the victim safe deposit boxes in order to steal the contents, including currency, gold bars, jewelry, and other property,” a DOJ press release said. After the heist was complete, the trio would leave the country.
Prosecutors say the scheme went on for years—with Cooper and another co-conspirator even bribing local law enforcement officials in the various countries they hit for information to ensure they could evade prosecution. Finally, New York authorities caught up to them, and on Tuesday, agents executed a search warrant at Cooper’s house. There, they found safe deposit box keys without any identification numbers, cash, jewelry, and several high-end bags. In Cooper’s storage unit in Brooklyn, investigators also found a borescope and safe deposit box lock.
Authorities noted that Cooper and Levin have criminal histories. Levin was convicted in April 2000 after pleading guilty to securities fraud for his role in a $100 million stock scheme operated by members and associates of La Cosa Nostra and a Russian organized crime group. Cooper was convicted in the former Soviet Union of theft in 1986 and was cited in another criminal office against the USSR in 2001—but did not face criminal charges before he evaded prosecution.
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld absolutely melted down on Tuesday after drawing the ire of several of his colleagues for his reaction to the news that Derek Chauvin was found guilty for the murder of George Floyd. One colleague wondered aloud whether Gutfeld was “off his meds,” setting off an on-air implosion.
Immediately after a Minneapolis jury handed down its guilty verdict, which included a second-degree murder charge for the former police officer, Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro—appearing on panel show The Five—declared that she wholeheartedly supported the jury’s decision. (Yes, really.)
“Clearly the verdict is supported by the facts,” the conservative host declared, adding: “Make no mistake, the facts are solid on this verdict, this verdict will be held on appeal but right now what people need to understand is that the American justice system works. It works, people believe in lady justice and you can give it a chance, it can work.”
While Pirro’s opinion may seem surprising to many, considering her extremely pro-police stance, she has said from the time of Floyd’s death that the “facts are clear” that Chauvin “does not deserve to be free.”
Gutfeld, of course, did not see things nearly the same way.
“I’m glad that he was found guilty on all charges, even if he might not be guilty of all charges, I am glad that he is guilty of all charges because I want a verdict that keeps this country from going up in flames,” he said, eliciting groans from the other Five co-hosts.
“I’m at least being honest,” a defensive Gutfeld shot back. “My neighborhood was looted. I don’t ever want to go through that again!”
After Pirro chastised Gutfeld, insisting that we “do not sacrifice individuals for the sake of how people feel,” the broadcast turned to Fox News analyst Ted Williams, a former homicide detective, who laid out the merits of the case.
“I heard Greg a few minutes ago, and I gotta tell you, I don’t know—Greg is off his meds if he believes that there was not evidence,” Williams exclaimed, causing Gutfeld to absolutely lose it, shouting: “Excuse me?! What did you say?! What did you say?! Excuse me?!”
“If you do not believe that there was evidence to support these charges, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you,” Williams retorted, prompting Gutfeld to deny he ever suggested as much.
“That’s not what I said,” the Fox host repeatedly insisted, only for Williams to fire back: “Let me finish!”
It should never have mattered that he was a drug addict who suffered from a myriad of health issues, or that he had allegedly attempted to pass a counterfeit bill at a corner market. George Floyd should still be alive today. Tuesday, a jury agreed.
Less than a day after closing arguments concluded, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was remanded into custody and will face sentencing in a few weeks. He deserves every hour he will spend in prison. They are hours Floyd will never have at all.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks to the media, Thursday, April 15, 2021, during her weekly briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
After former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi thanked Floyd “for sacrificing your life for justice.”
She thanked him for “being there to call out” to his mom, and noted how heartbreaking it was.
“Because of you and because of thousands, millions of people around the world, who came out for justice, your name will always be synonymous with justice and now we have to make sure justice prevails in the sentencing,” Pelosi said.
Her statement was quickly slammed on social media. Many said it was tone deaf and argued she should not treat Floyd as a sacrificial lamb toward police reform.
“He didn’t willingly accept his fate for anything,” one person on Twitter said. “He was unjustly taken away from his family and loved ones.”
Floyd’s death triggered worldwide protests, violence and a furious reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S. He died last May after Chauvin, a white officer, pinned his knee on or close to the 46-year-old Black man’s neck for about 9 1/2 minutes.
The jury deliberated about 10 hours over two days in a city on edge against another outbreak of unrest.
It is bad enough when the United States incurs grave risks to defend even indisputably democratic allies, if those countries lack sufficient importance to America’s economic and security interests. Too many U.S. allies, such as the Baltic republics, fail that crucial risk-benefit calculation. However, it is even worse when the United States incurs excessive risks on behalf of undemocratic allies or clients that have little intrinsic importance. And yet, Washington is making precisely that blunder with respect to Ukraine.
The United States has no treaty obligation to defend Ukraine from an adversary. Indeed, the notion that Ukraine should be an important U.S. ally is a rather recent phenomenon. Until the end of 1991, Ukraine merely was part of the Soviet Union, and before that, the Russian empire, and no credible American ever argued that the territory was a significant U.S. interest. That attitude began to change during George W. Bush’s presidency, but Ukraine still remained outside Washington’s geostrategic orbit. Even though both Bush and Barack Obama pushed NATO allies to make Kiev a member of the Alliance, Germany, France, and other key powers balked at doing so. Although they (correctly) worried that such a move might antagonize Russia beyond endurance, German and French leaders also had another objection. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recalled that German Chancellor Angela Merkel regarded the government that had emerged from Ukraine’s ostensibly democratic “Orange Revolution” in 2004 as a corrupt “mess.”
Indeed, that pro-Western government did not endure, and elections in 2010 produced a victory for pro-Russia presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych. U.S. leaders were unhappy with that result, and in late 2013 and early 2014, Washington and several European allies supported anti-government demonstrators to oust Yanukovych before his term expired. That “Maidan Revolution” succeeded, but Russia retaliated by annexing Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula and supporting an armed insurgency by pro-Russia separatists in the eastern Donbas region. Since then, Washington has treated Kiev as a de facto NATO member and a crucial U.S. ally. Donald Trump’s administration approved multiple weapons sales to Kiev and trained Ukrainian troops—a policy the Biden administration is intensifying. In early April, Biden assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of Washington’s “unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression in the Donbas and Crimea.”
U.S. officials consistently have praised Ukraine’s political system and supposed respect for individual liberties. In congressional testimony, William Taylor, who served as interim U.S. ambassador to Kiev in 2019, described Ukraine’s domestic governance as “an inclusive, democratic nationalism.” Ukraine’s nongovernmental fans in the United States are even more effusive. New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg asserts that the country has become “a vibrant democracy.”
The reality is murkier. Ukraine does have competitive elections, although the continuing insurgency in Donbas and the loss of Crimea severely weakened pro-Russia factions and correspondingly strengthened nationalist, anti-Russia factions to the point of dominance. Within that democratic framework, moreover, there are disturbing, authoritarian features. Earlier this year, Zelensky’s government closed three independent television stations, supposedly for being Kremlin tools. It was hardly coincidental, though, that the move significantly reduced the number of opposition media outlets, not to mention having a chilling effect on those that remained open.
Nor was such censorship the extent of the government’s recent troubling actions. In a March 27 decree, Zelenskiy removed Constitutional Court Chairman Oleksandr Tupytskiy and another judge, Oleksandr Kasminin, for continuing to “threaten Ukraine’s independence and national security.” Those jurists had ruled against the government in several cases. Their removal hardly was intended to foster an independent judiciary in Ukraine.
Such behavior continues the autocratic tendencies of Zelensky’s predecessor, Petro Poroshenko. In July 2015, Ukraine’s State Commission for Television and Radio Broadcasting outlined new measures to ban books, magazines, and movies that were guilty of “promoting war, racial, and religious strife,” and “threatening the territorial integrity of Ukraine.” Prohibited conduct also included “humiliating and insulting a nation and its people [i.e., Ukraine]”
It soon appeared that anyone who disputed the government’s version of developments surrounding the Maidan Revolution or the conflict in eastern Ukraine was likely to be silenced. Ukrainian officials even banned the movies of French actor Gerard Depardieu, a critic of Kiev’s policies.
Authorities later issued an order preventing 34 journalists and seven bloggers from even entering the country. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that the newly publicized list was merely part of a larger blacklist containing the names of 388 individuals and more than a hundred organizations barred from entry on the grounds of “national security” and allegedly posing a threat to Ukraine’s “territorial integrity.” Human Rights Watch criticized the Kiev government in September 2017 for imposing yet more restrictions on journalists.
Because of the North Atlantic Treaty, the United States already is stuck with an obligation to defend Alliance members, such as Turkey and Hungary, that are (at best) “illiberal democracies.” Washington should not put itself in a position of militarily supporting a similar country to which it has no such treaty obligation. Yet U.S. policies are leading to exactly that situation. Biden administration statements signal that the United States is even willing to go to war to back Ukraine in its ongoing confrontation with Russia. Risking war with a nuclear-armed great power would be unwise even if Ukraine were a model of democratic values. Doing so on behalf of a quasi-authoritarian Ukraine would be the essence of folly.
Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow in security studies at the Cato Institute, is the author of 12 books and more than 900 articles on international affairs.
Envisioned as an unmanned, reusable hypersonic intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, the much-touted SR-72 could, in theory, reach speeds of Mach 6 – double the speeds of the original Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.
While this isn’t exactly a secret, what is unclear is whether the Son of the Blackbird, as the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been dubbed, was ever more than vaporware.
SR-72: Is It Really Real?
NASA did award a contract to Lockheed Martin to study the feasibility of building a propulsion system for the aircraft, The Aviation Geek Club reported this month. Citing the upcoming 75 Years of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works by James C. Goodall from Ospey Publishing, it appears that the NASA contract was for a parametric design study, which could, in turn, establish the viability of a turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) propulsion system.
Previously it was suggested that the SR-72 “Darkstar” featured a propulsion system that is centered on a turbine-based combined cycle, which merges a modified production fighter turbine engine with a dual-mode ramjet – also called a scramjet. Such an engine would have enabled the aircraft to accelerate from a standing start to Mach 6 – double that of the record-setting SR-71 Blackbird.
With such speed, the “Darkstar” would have been capable of reaching any destination in the world in about an hour, a true selling feature for an ISR aircraft. Additionally, the platform could have been employed like a bomber and it could carry weapons that would be able to target remote parts of the world from the very edge of space. It was also reported that the aircraft could be capable of firing hypersonic missiles, making it an extremely dangerous plane.
Hype or Reality?
As far back as 2013, discussions of the SR-72 Darkstar’s various capabilities have made the rounds in the media, while the fact that supposedly using off-the-shelf materials has kept it affordable in this era of tight budget constraints.
In 2017, Lockheed Martin had announced that the SR-72 would be in development by the early 2020s and could be in service by the early 2030s, but a year later it was announced that progress had been slow going based on the technological demands of the project.
“Without the digital transformation the aircraft you see there could not have been made. In fact, five years ago, it could not have been made,” explained Lockheed Vice President Jack O’Banion, referencing an artist’s SR-72 rendering presented at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ annual SciTech Forum in 2018.
While O’Banion’s statement suggested that an SR-72 prototype or concept demonstrator had been produced, more recently it had been stated that the prototype of the platform wasn’t even scheduled to fly until 2025.
The year-long novel coronavirus pandemic certainly hasn’t helped matters, and it is unclear if the project has moved forward at all in the past year. While various sources suggest work on the ramjet engines has continued, for now, the SR-72 Darkstar may still in the vaporware stage – and it is unclear when or even if it ever takes to the skies.
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He regularly writes about military small arms, and is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com.
Speaking to reporters at the White House today, press secretary Jen Psaki answered questions as to President Joe Biden's remarks as to his hope that the jury returns "the right verdict," and essentially tried to walk them back.
Reporters weren't convinced, as Psaki intoned the "exhaustion" being experienced in "communities of color."
"Well first I would say regardless of the outcome the president has consistently called for peace," she said, noting that the administration has been working with municipalities to provide "space for peaceful protest."
As regards the president's comments and their impact on the verdict, Psaki noted that the jury is sequestered. She said she expects he "will weigh in further once there is a verdict."
Kristen Welker of NBC asked how it could be "appropriate for him to be weighing in on the verdict."
Psaki said "he wasn't weighing in on the verdict."
He did call for the right verdict though, Welker said, asking why it's appropriate for the president to say anything at all before the jury has had their say, especially given the importance of the independent judiciary. Welker also asked about Maxine Water's comments over the weekend, when she called for an increase in protest.
Psaki intoned the family's having experienced loss, the "exhaustion" in communities of color, and the issues regarding policing in the country. She said that Biden is concerned about racial issues in the country, believing that racism is one of the "four major crises" the nation is facing.
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced that it is increasing the number of available H-2B seasonal worker visas available -- increasing the number by 22,000, with 6,000 reserved for workers from Central American countries.
The number of visas, which gives temporary legal status to nonagricultural seasonal workers in service jobs in restaurants and hotels, as well as other areas like landscaping, is currently set at 66,000 by Congress, but it can be increased by the departments of Homeland Security and Labor.
DHS said it will increase the visa number by 22,000 and will reserve 6,000 for nationals from Northern Triangle countries -- Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala -- in line with an executive order signed by President Biden earlier this year designed to restore orderly migration at the southern border.
"The H-2B program is designed to help U.S. employers fill temporary seasonal jobs, while safeguarding the livelihoods of American workers," DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. "This supplemental increase also demonstrates DHS’s commitment to expanding lawful pathways for opportunity in the United States to individuals from the Northern Triangle."
The Trump administration initially raised the cap by 35,000 last year but later stopped it due to the pandemic after raising it 30,000 in 2019. The Trump administration had blocked off 10,000 visas for Central American workers last year.
The H-2B program has seen support and opposition from both sides of the aisle. Last year a coalition of Democrats and Republicans urged the Trump administration not to raise the cap, arguing that it is rife with abuse and incentivizes "unscrupulous employers to hire H-2B workers instead of American workers and create[s] poor working conditions for immigrant workers and American workers alike."
Those who call for an increase in workers say that the program is vital to getting summer businesses the employees they need. In its press release, DHS said employers reported critical vacancies.
"During recent engagement with American businesses that rely on the H-2B program during the summer months, employers expressed an immediate need for supplemental, temporary guest workers for this fiscal year," it said. "Businesses across the country, despite attempts at recruitment and hiring of U.S. workers, report critical vacancies. This leaves already vulnerable businesses in danger of significant potential revenue loss."
That claim was dismissed by immigration restrictionist groups who have long opposed the H-2B program, describing it as rife with abuse from companies keen for cheap foreign labor.
"This is just another day’s work for an administration hell-bent on eliminating any meaningful limits or restrictions on immigration," said RJ Hauman, head of government relations at the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "Even prominent unions that supported President Biden pointed out that H-2B is rife with abuse, displaces American workers, and suppresses wages. Did they listen? Nope. Businesses reliant on cheap foreign labor were calling."
Hospitality labor union "UNITE HERE" opposed such a move ahead of the announcement, expressing "serious reservations about the expansion of temporary visas -- the alphabet soup of visas and special provisions that are too often a sop to a wealthy few. Certain employers, we fear, are gaming this system."
"There must be much greater supervision by DOL and DHS over abuses in H-2B visas. Until we can be certain of an end to these abuses, we are seriously opposed to expansions of these visas," the union said.
The announcement comes days after the Biden administration sparked controversy by announcing it was keeping the current cap for refugees at 15,000 for this fiscal year before announcing it would increase that number by the middle of May -- after the initial announcement sparked backlash from Democrats and immigration activists.
Reps. Maxine Waters and Rashida Tlaib have recently acted in ways that betray their oaths to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.
By Newt Gingrich
House Democrats have produced two radical demagogues whose policies would endanger the lives of innocent Americans, lead to the breakdown of society, and undermine the US Constitution.
Specifically, Reps. Maxine Waters and Rashida Tlaib have recently acted in ways that reflect unfavorably on the House of Representatives and betray their oaths to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Congresswoman Waters flew to Minnesota where the murder trial of Officer Derek Chauvin is in progress and said, “we are looking for a guilty verdict.” If Chauvin is not found guilty of murdering George Floyd in May 2020, Waters said, “We’ve got to stay on the street, and we’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational. We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business. … We cannot go away.”
Demagogically encouraging the rule of the mob over the rule of law – and urging people to mobilize against the court and the police at a time of great tension – clearly is a violation of every member of Congress’s responsibility to uphold the rule of law and the Constitution.
Congresswoman Waters’ encouragement to the mob to use “confrontational” coercion to force society to render the result the mob wants creates an immediate threat to public safety.
However, Waters’ call for mob rule may be dwarfed in its impact by Tlaib’s call to abolish the police and close prisons. If her policies were followed, the years of violence and predatory assault on the innocent would utterly destroy the rule of law and eliminate public safety in ways even Waters’ incitement couldn’t achieve.
Tlaib, who represents Detroit, tweeted “No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can’t be reformed.” She was setting a standard that was not merely radical, it was insane. Detroit’s police chief has called on her to resign.
In 2020, United States had the biggest increase in murders in history. The level of violence from Portland’s virtually nightly attacks by Antifa to the looting and street violence which have become the norm in all too many cities is simply intolerable.
In Tlaib’s home district, the evidence is devastating. As I wrote last week, according to the City of Detroit’s 2020 Crime Report, there was 327 homicides in 2020. This is up from 275 the previous year, which is a 19 percent increase. There were 1,173 non-fatal shootings in 2020 – up from 767 the previous year – which is a 53 percent change.
For a member of Congress to propose in the middle of this devastating violence that we should end policing and close down prisons is beyond outrageous. It is a policy which, if followed, would lead to thousands of victims of violent crime.
There should be real consequences for this kind of life endangering, society threatening irresponsibility.
At the very least, Reps. Waters and Tlaib have violated the rules of the US House as described in the resolution to remove Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments:
“Whereas clause 1 of rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives provides, ‘A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House;’ and Whereas Representative _____ should be removed from her committee assignments in light of conduct she has exhibited.”
So, the standard for judging Waters’ and Tlaib’s words is not the right of free speech. At a time when there have been months of riots, buildings burnt, stores looted, and police across the entire country bracing for violence (with some National Guard already mobilized), the standard for members of Congress – those entrusted to lead us – is what “reflect[s] creditably on the House.”
Nothing Congresswoman Greene said was comparable in its potential devastation to everyday Americans as the Waters-Tlaib proposals of letting a mob overturn the US judicial system, abolishing the police, releasing all violent criminals from prison, and allowing murder and violence rates to skyrocket.
Every member of the House of Representatives should be challenged to join in repudiating Congresswoman Tlaib’s pro-criminal position by voting to remove her from the committees on which she currently serves — the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Oversight and Reform (which gives her standing to bring her hostility to bear on federal law enforcement and federal prisons).
Similarly, members should remove Waters from the House Committee on Financial Services, of which she is the chairwoman.
The fight to repudiate Congresswoman Tlaib’s anti-police, anti-prison, pro-criminal position; and Congresswoman Waters’ call for mob rule to replace the rule of law will have five positive results:
The fight will draw attention to the staggering and frightening rise in crime and force the new media to cover the degree to which every American is now endangered by the anti-police, pro-criminal policies of the left.
It will draw attention to the kind of crazy ideas which now pass for legitimate policy proposals on the radical left. Most Americans do not know the level of radicalism and anti-Americanism which is now acceptable in the Democratic Party.
It will highlight the choice every Democrat House member should be forced to make. At a time when crime is rising, more and more innocent people are at risk, and more and more small business owners are threatened with bankruptcy from criminal mob violence Congresswoman Tlaib’s and Waters’ views are a real threat.
Will each House Democrat fight for the protection of his or her constituents or tolerate the pro-criminal statements and attitudes of Congresswoman Tlaib and her radical associates in “the Squad?” Will House Democrats defend the blatant call for mob rule as people shoot at National Guardsmen (as happened shortly after Waters spoke)?
Because crime and violence are going to continue to rise under the pro-criminal, pro-illegal immigration, anti-police policies of the Biden administration, these issues of the innocent versus the criminal will continue to grow in importance. Every act of violence and victimized innocent person is another reason to draw attention to Tlaib’s and Waters’ views and call for them to be dropped from their committees.
If the fight is sustained for eight weeks or more, the pressure will build and a surprising number of people will call to repudiate Tlaib, Waters, and other members of the radical left.
This is beyond politics. This is about insisting that members of Congress do not promote mob rule or work to make America less safe. It is about insisting that our leaders protect and defend the US Constitution and act in America’s best interest as they have sworn to do.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is embracing a YouTube alternative after the Google-owned platform removed a video featuring the Republican governor and public health experts, claiming they shared misinformation.
As conservatives battle Big Tech, claiming censorship of right-leaning ideas and posts on platforms, DeSantis is taking his messaging to a new platform – Rumble – a Toronto-based video-sharing platform that launched in 2013 with the focus of helping "small and independent video creators" grow their footprint and their audience.
DeSantis posted his first video to the platform on April 15, titled "Gov. DeSantis Fights Back Against Big Tech Censorship."
"Some of our biggest media conglomerates, who claim to be avatars of the First Amendment and free exchange of ideas, they've become cheerleaders for censorship," DeSantis said in the video. "If something doesn't fit the overriding narrative then, in their view, it's better that it's left on the cutting room floor, it's best that you edit it out of existence rather than actually tell people the truth."
"What we're really witnessing is Orwellian – it is a Big Tech, corporate media collusion," DeSantis said, adding that "the end result is that the narrative is always right."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gestures during a news conference Sunday, April 4, 2021, at the Manatee County Emergency Management office in Palmetto, Fla. (Associated Press)
DeSantis, this week, started posting more regularly on the platform, including videos of his remarks after signing anti-riot legislation in Florida.
DeSantis' use of Rumble comes after YouTube, earlier this month, removed a video featuring DeSantis and a roundtable panel of medical officials in Florida. During the video, they said children do not need to wear face masks in school – a sentiment that conflicts with recommendations issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A spokesperson for YouTube told FOX Business that it has clear policies around COVID-19-related misinformation to support the safety of users.
"We removed this video because it included content that contradicts the consensus of local and global health authorities regarding the efficacy of masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19," the spokesperson said. "We allow videos that otherwise violate our policies to remain on the platform if they contain sufficient educational, documentary, scientific or artistic context. Our policies apply to everyone, and focus on content regardless of the speaker or channel."
In a statement to FOX Business after its removal, a spokesperson for DeSantis criticized the move as a "blatant example of Big Tech attempting to silence those who disagree with their woke corporate agenda."
Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski welcomed DeSantis to the platform, calling him a "longtime proponent of free speech" and someone who "has been at the forefront of the effort to demonopolize Big Tech."
"He understands firsthand Americans' distrust of monolithic tech companies and the danger they pose to free expression and free markets," Pavlovski said, adding that Rumble "invites robust and civic dialogue on our platform, including Gov. DeSantis’ insights and expertise."
As for handling alleged misinformation on Rumble, Pavlovski said the platform has "strict policies" when it comes to content that incites violence, racism, anti-Semitism, terrorism and more.
"But when it comes to opinions that people disagree with or consider to be wrong or right, we encourage debate, we encourage opinions, civil discourse, and encourage creators to speak their mind as long as it doesn’t violent those underlying rules," Pavlovski told Fox News.
"When it comes to opinions we disagree with, that's important, we're all for that," he said.
The platform is also used by lawmakers like Reps. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as well as other Republicans, including Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Lara Trump.
In a hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee, Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) lambasted Democrats for comparing Georgia's new voting legislation to the racist segregationist Jim Crow laws which once dominated the Southern United States.
Owens began by discussing the story of his great great grandfather, who came to America on a slave ship when he was just a child.
"He escaped on the underground railroad, and later became a successful entrepreneur," Owens said, "purchasing 102 acres of farmland paid off in two years."
"My father, Clarence Burgess Owens Sr., was stationed in the Philippines at the end of World War II. When he returned home to Texas, actual Jim Crow laws denied him postgraduate education. Raised in a generation that used this as motivation, he received his PhD in agronomy at Ohio State University and had a successful career as a professor, researcher, and entrepreneur.
"I grew up in the era of actual, legalized institutional racism. I grew up in the Deep South, in Tallahassee, Florida, in the 1960s during the days of KKK, Jim Crow, and segregation," Owens continued, noting that he did not have any experiences with white Americans until he was 16 years old, and has since risen to become a Congressman.
"As someone who has actually experienced Jim Crow laws, I'd like to set the record straight on the myths regarding the recently passed Georgia state law, and why any comparison between this law and Jim Crow is absolutely outrageous."
Owens gave examples from his own life to demonstrate the viciousness of Jim Crow, describing an incident when he was allowed to participate in a protest at the then-segregated Florida State Theater. "Only 50 years later did I learn that my father parked across the street to watch and make sure I was safe," he said.
He described black people being forced to use segregated facilities, often ones which were much dirtier and less well-kept than white facilities. He also pointed to multiple laws including literacy tests and poll taxes which "made it nearly impossible for black Americans to vote."
The Georgia law, "simply requires any person applying for an absentee ballot to include evidence of a government-issued ID on their application," Owens said. "If a voter does not have a driver's license or an ID card, that voter can use a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or any other government document that shows the name and address of this voter. If a voter somehow cannot produce one of these forms of ID, that voter can still vote and cast a provisional ballot."
Owens also pointed out that 97 percent of voters in Georgia already have a government-issued ID.
"What I find extremely offensive is the narrative from the left that black people are not smart enough, not educated enough... to do what every other culture and race does in this country: get an ID," Owens said.
Owens then accused the Democratic Party of harboring the "soft bigotry of low expectations," a phrase often used to describe the infantilization of minority voters.
"President Biden said of the Georgia law, 'this is Jim Crow on steroids.' With all do respect Mr. President, you know better. It is disgusting and offensive to compare the actual voter suppression and violence of that era that we grew up in with a state law that only asks that people show their ID."
Owens went on to note that the KKK, Jim Crow laws, and other racist afflictions on black Americans until the 1960s were spearheaded by Democrats, comparing it to the alleged modern-day racism of the "soft bigotry of low expectations."
He then accused Democrats of promoting policies which harm black communities, such as defunding the police. He also suggested that Democrats enable illegal aliens to illegally cast ballots in elections, diluting the voting power of black Americans.
"To call this Jim Crow 2021 is an insult my friends. For those who never lived Jim Crow, we are not in Jim Crow," he finished.
Illegal aliens in New Jersey have gone on a hunger strike in an effort to convince New Jersey lawmakers to give them money. This comes on the heels of New York’s bizarre decision to give illegal aliens a $15,600 payment as compensation for the difficulties they may have had getting work because of the Coronavirus.
The illegal aliens in New Jersey are asking for a $2000 dollar direct payment and $600 dollars a week in benefits.
Governor Phil Murphy initially offered $40 million dollars in benefits. However, Amy Torres, Executive Director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice said that giving illegal aliens only $40 million dollars of other people’s money for nothing is “crumbs,” adding: “This indicates that the state is not serious aside from scoring a couple of political points with headlines by offering crumbs. …How much longer is the state going to force people to fast?”
It seems unlikely that Murphy’s counter-offer will be rounding up all the illegals asking for benefits so they can be shipped back to their home countries to finish their hunger fasts there, but it should be. This is that famous never-ending slippery slope that you hear about in action. It starts with, “Let them break the law. They just want to work. I might do the same thing in their position” to “You’re racist if you think we should enforce the laws on the books” to “We should give them taxpayer money just because they’re here illegally.” While we’re at it, why would a hunger strike persuade anyone in 2021 America? Most relatively healthy people can probably make it at least 40-50 days without food and realistically, they’re all lying about being on a hunger strike anyway. You put those illegals on a scale and come back in a couple of months and half of them will have gained weight and none of them will have starved.
The reality is that illegal aliens deserve nothing except a permanent ban on entering America, a trip back home, and a demand that their government pay the cost of catching and transporting them out of our country. Immigrants to our country that do things the right way deserve respect. Illegal aliens broke the law, and certainly shouldn’t be subsidized for it.
Rep. Maxine Waters' (D-CA) comments in Brooklyn Center, Minn., late Saturday night instructing protestors to "get more confrontational" are not just a one-off comment, Tucker Carlson pointed out on Tucker Carlson Tonight Monday, but one by a person with a history of incendiary comments encouraging "mob violence."
In a segment Monday night, Carlson pointed out the long history of hypocrisy and comments from Maxine Waters inciting mob violence.
"People like Maxine Waters don't care if you point out that they're hypocrites. They don't care if you catch them lying, you're wasting your breath when you point this out. They are not ashamed. They never will be ashamed," said Carlson.
"So how do you respond to people like this? Well the only thing you can do is tell truth about who they are," he added.
Waters' comments promoting riots can be seen back in a May 4, 1992 interview during Rodney King LA riots.
"People want to know why I'm not saying exactly what they want me to say. They want me to walk out in Watts, like black people did in the '60s, and say, Cool it baby, cool it. Well I'm sorry. The fact of the matter is, whether we like it or not, riot is the voice of the unheard," stated Waters.
More than 50 people were killed and countless others were injured through the nearly week long riot in Los Angeles in 1992.
One of the most brutal attacks highlighted by Carlson's show Monday night was of the truck driver Reginald Denny. Denny was pulled out of his semi-truck by four men, and was mercilessly beaten almost to death. Damian Williams bashed Denny's skull with a cinderblock, fracturing it in 91 places, causing permanent brain damage.
Maxine Waters had reportedly went to the home of Williams on the day that the jury was set to deliver the verdict on his case to voice her support.
"We have an opportunity for justice to prevail," Waters reportedly said.
According to Carlson, Williams went on to murder again after serving only a fraction of his original sentence.
Carlson pointed out that those within Waters' party as well as her supporters haven't voiced concerns about her incendiary rhetoric, and instead have rewarded Waters with the House Financial Services chairman position that oversees Wall Street. Even with GOP members pushing for Waters' expulsion from Congress or removal from chairman position, Carlson expects little to happen because her party supports her comments.
"Waters has paid no price for this. She kept rising in the Democratic hierarchy. No one told her to stop inciting violence, so naturally she didn't," said Carlson. In regards to the GOP's push for Waters to be reprimanded Carlson said "But let's not lie to ourselves, that's not going to happen. Leading Democrats aren't going to punish Maxine Waters because they're not embarrassed of Maxine Waters because they agree with Maxine Waters."
Carlson also pointed to a 2018 clip of Waters talking to supporters, telling the crowd to get confrontational if they saw any of Trump's cabinet out in public.
"And if you see anybody from that cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them, and you tell them you're not welcome," said Waters.
Carlson added that these comments made recently are not just a one-off from someone, but just the latest comment from someone with a long history of inciting mob violence.
"These aren't apparitions, this is a decades-long theme. What do we conclude from it? The obvious, Maxine Waters doesn't believe in the western understanding of justice or self-government. She believes in mob violence for political ends. That's why she's been calling for it for decades," Carlson stated.
Voices like the Lincoln Project, The Washington Post, and David Frum of The Atlantic, which Carlson points out are voices of "the usual moral course," have remained silent in the wake of Waters' comments.
"In the face of that grotesque display, silence from he democratic party's usual moral course," points out Carlson.
"Why aren't they saying anything?" asks Carlson. "Obviously they support Maxine Waters.They think her calls for violence are justified, or at least they're afraid to say otherwise which is a distinction without a difference. This is true, and the sooner we understand it the better."
That shaky old man went down like a sack of hammers.
Today, Kamala had her own “stumble” incident, granted it wasn’t as horrific as Bidens, but it still makes you wonder what the heck is wrong with these two that they can’t seem to walk without stumbling and falling.
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Kamala was attempting to give her statement on the George Floyd guilty verdict, and as she approached the podium, and presumably tried to climb up on a step, she nearly toppled right over.
Karma is having a field day with these two cheaters…
She managed to catch herself and then awkwardly muttered “how’s that for an entrance?”
Well, Kamala, it sucks, to be honest, and it makes you two bumbling, nervous nellies look even more ridiculous to the country and the rest of the world.
You can watch the video below:
Vice President Kamala Harris stumbles up the podium before giving her remarks on the Chauvin verdict. pic.twitter.com/gIt7bHCHXe
These two really are a national embarrassment. it’s amateur hour in the White House.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
And that’s the thing – sometimes people don’t think, especially if the issue is very emotional. They’ll react with how they “feel,” and that’s not always the best way to handle a situation if you’re a public figure.
And that’s likely the situation that Greg Gutfeld landed in today when he made his comments on the Chauvin verdict.
Of course, this trial captivated the nation, and tensions were running high. These are the times when you should pick and choose your words carefully.
Greg did not appear to do that when he said the following: “I’m glad that [Chauvin] was found guilty on all charges, even if he might not be guilty of all charges.”
FOX NEWS' GREG GUTFELD: "I'm glad that [Chauvin] was found guilty on all charges, even if he might not be guilty of all charges." pic.twitter.com/g9BtQQ3M1L
That was not the smartest thing to say – because no matter what happens and how emotional or fired-up people are, we never want to just “accept” that someone might have been convicted by the “mob.”
Yep. "Convict him, he's guilty" is an entirely reasonable argument. "Convict him, doesn't matter if he's guilty, the city will burn otherwise" is the beginning of the end of a nation of laws. https://t.co/o6YpMqmHss
This country is already falling apart – many feel like they have no voice, and no vote, now to suggest it’s okay to have limited or no justice, is a bad idea.
Needless to say, Greg’s comment stirred some people up and they let him have it:
“This is the type of mentality you deploy if you want to lose a country.”
“innocent until proven guilty” is now “what outcome won’t cause a riot” Absolutely pathetic.”
“GREG GUTFELD is Despicable.”
“Fear of a mob is no reason to convict someone if they are not guilty. While I think he was guilty of the Manslaughter, I didnt think he was guilty of the Murder charges. “
“I love Greg , but this is hands down the worst thing he’s ever said on television.”
The last thing Americans want to believe is that we’ve lost our justice system to the “mob,” and if we have, that wouldn’t be “okay” under any circumstances.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
One of the most shocking statements came from Speaker of The House Nancy Pelosi, who delivered one of the most inappropriate comments ever, considering the circumstances.
She actually “thanked” George Floyd for dying in the name of “justice.”
Here’s what she said: “Thank you George Floyd for sacrificing your life for justice…Because of you and because of thousands, millions of people around the world who came out for justice, your name will always be synonymous for justice.”
Watch:
Speaker Pelosi: "Thank you George Floyd for sacrificing your life for justice … Because of you and because of thousands, millions of people around the world who came out for justice, your name will always be synonymous with justice."pic.twitter.com/JfapSsKdtX
People on both sides of the aisle were outraged, but it was the left that was absolutely furious, and some are actually calling for her to resign:
“Huh he DID NOT sacrifice his life madam speaker. HE WAS MURDERED”
“Oh gross. He was murdered. Why would you say that? He should be home hugging his daughter.”
“What!!!! Thank u????!!! @SpeakerPelosi did you just hear what you just said? He didn’t sacrifice his life, he was MURDERED…”
“Pretty sure he didn’t sign up to be murdered by a cop.”
“Lady, it’s time for you to go”
“You couldn’t be more tone deaf if you tried”
“Probably the stupidest statement I have ever heard.”
“Why are so many politicians out of touch…how could she even say this? How could she not know better?”
“Thank you for sacrificing your life? Better to say, I’m sorry you had to sacrifice your life for justice. Sheesh.”
“That has got to be in the running for the most poorly chosen words since language was invented.”
“Raise your hand if you’re a democrat and you want Pelosi to resign ASAP”
“This just shows how ignorant and out of touch with what this really means. This is all just pageantry acted out by a puppet of the state”
“OMG—she needs to resign immediately. What a stupid thing to say. At that moment? Come on now!!!! Time to step down and hang out in the retirement community.”
“HE DIDNT SIGN UP TO BE MURDERED, SUFFERING, AND TORTURED BY A COP!!! NOT A SACRIFICE!!”
“this woman needs to resign immediately and i’m a democrat saying this”
“Something to bring all Americans together – we can probably all agree that Pelosi’s statement was one of the stupidest ever made.”
“Are you fucking serious right now Nancy? Are you fucking serious!?!? HE SHOULDN’T BE DEAD!!! FIX THAT SHIT!!!!”
“RESIGN NOW!!!!!”
“you are out of touch and you need to resigne immeditaley”
“Can’t wait to hear how Pelosi tries to walk this back. What a fucking awful statement.”
“My God, she is not a serious woman. resign. your out of touch”
“This was sooooo offensive. She must resign”
“This is the typical response for someone who hasn’t been in contact with any remotely normal people in like 2 decades. So completely detached.”
“Pelosi needs to go”
“This is disgusting! George Floyd did not sacrifice his life, he was murdered! Do better Nancy Pelosi.”
And on and on and on the comments from angry liberals went…Not sure how Pelosi will weasel out of this one, but it’s great to watch her slow-boil.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
OPINION | This article contains commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
Fox News’ Harris Faulkner and a friend of mine called out Chris Cuomo’s foolishness on Tuesday after he doubled down on his racist rhetoric against white people not feeling what black people feel until their kids get shot.
Faulkner’s segment began with a clip from Cuomo’s Friday show, to which Faulker reacted with “oh my goodness!” She then played the clip from Cuomo’s Monday night broadcast, to which she then responded with “Oh, my gosh!”
“He meant what he said, and no one uses the ‘R’ word against him?” said Faulkner. “He thinks there are no black people in the suburbs! I’m going to use the ‘i’ word; he is straight-up ignorant!”
Faulkner did not understand why nobody in the media was not calling out Cuomo’s racist commentary.
Faulker asked Fox News contributor Lawrence B. Jones III, who happened to be on the panel, “There are black people in the suburbs. What is he talking about?”
Jones responded, “I reject the premise of his conversation because it’s just factually not true,” while adding his own experiences along with some added context.
Faulkner then asked Fox News contributor Tomi Lahren who went a step further when she said, “CNN and Chris Cuomo, in particular, are going to be outraged about all the violence that’s happening in inner-city communities around the country.” Rapid-fire ranted that Cuomo and Black Lives Matter and Rep. Maxine Waters would be sending a message of “compliance” if they really cared about saving black lives.
“Race, race, race. Let’s also focus on the actions of the suspect and the victim, and say, hey, listen, there are bad apples out there in the policing community, but if you comply, you will go home safe to your community at night,” said Lahren. “That needs to be the message, not one of martyrdom for resisting arrest.”
Even Kayleigh McEnany weighed in on Cuomo’s commentary saying, “This is amazing. Chris Cuomo needs to take a hard look in the mirror because he also said in his clean up of these comments, or double down if you will, he said, look, this has brought some of the worst and most divisive rhetoric out of us, this incident and these racial tensions. Well, he’s one of the chief perpetrators of that!”
“He said, ‘who says protests have to be peaceful?’ Those were words from the mouth of Chris Cuomo before making further incendiary remarks,” added McEnany. “We all need to step back and say how my rhetoric is contributing to the conversation.”
The left has successfully made this a race issue for their own benefit. However, this is not a race issue at all. The facts are that the more frequently people, regardless of race, commit the crime or are involved with criminals, the more likely they are to get arrested. If those arrested are inclined to resist arrest, the more likely the arrest situation will get violent.
Of course, there are bad cops, just like any other profession, and they need to be expunged from the police force. However, it is equally clear that most cops are decent people who joined the profession to help people and uphold the law. When those cops are in a life and death situation, they have to defend themselves and the public, just like anyone else would do. The point is, if those situations didn’t arise, shootings wouldn’t happen.
You can’t reform the police unless you also reform the public.
CNN is all about ‘fear.’ They are the ones who perpetuate stories based on race rather than the issue itself. Make it about issues that exclude color, and maybe more people will listen.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
A royal expert who was friends with the late Princess Diana is speaking out this week to say that she believes Meghan Markle and Prince Harry “won’t last” as a couple.
“She and Harry won’t last. Once she became the royal Duchess of Sussex, it was off with everyone’s head,” Lady Colin Campbell told Page Six, referring to Meghan. “Disconnected from reality, she lost it. She froths at the mouth when my name is mentioned. But nothing she can do because I made no legal mistakes. With all I stated about her — her background, how she learned about him — I am legally OK.”
“Since fallout from the Oprahpiece, her name’s mud throughout the Commonwealth, even in the islands. This wrong-footed woman stated untruths,” Campbell added. “She couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Knowing some statements could not be massaged into reality, Harry went along. Not pleased, he knew they were not true. They were not already married three days before the big wedding. There’s a difference between fact and fiction. He knows the difference in a real ceremony. As did the Archbishop of Canterbury.”
Campbell then discussed what she believes will happen if Harry ever wants to make a comeback in an official capacity.
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“No matter how disagreeable, the Crown handles situations,” she explained. “hey’ll wait until the situation crystallizes. For now dignity and politesse rule the situation. She’s picked America and a communal property state and has two children. She’s got him. Difficult for him to get out. He’s entrapped.
“Returning, London would act polite. Be received politely,” Campbell continued. “Treated with respect. The Establishment, however, will treat him as a pariah.”
This is far from the first time that Campbell has spoken out against Meghan. Last summer, she compared her to Lady Macbeth, the villainess in the legendary play by William Shakespeare.
“Meghan’s influence is very reminiscent of Lady Macbeth,” Campbell told The Sun back in August. “It’s so sad because I remember Harry growing up and he was great with my kids. To gain a toehold over Harry she appears to have played to his weaknesses, just as Katherine has played to William’s strengths.”
“Meghan shares a lot of Harry’s weaknesses. He is hyper-emotional, over-the-top, rushes where wise people don’t and is extremely self-important,” she added. “The way she has acted is completely unacceptable in the Royal Family. Even Diana knew how to be a princess and when to toe the line. Meghan appears, to me, very good at talking the talk and not walking the walk. She is leading Harry down a path he will struggle to find his way back from. I fear for them.”
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
Nowadays, burning down a city, looting, and throwing cans of soup at police is a “protest.”
Aww, they’re just a bunch of frustrated “patriots” letting off some “understandable” steam.
That’s how we’re supposed to see these anti-American Marxists who are destroying cities, businesses, and people’s lives….” frustrated peaceful protesters.”
Florida will not tolerate and encourage riots and destruction like Dem-run cities do.
As a matter of fact, Fox News is reporting that Governor DeSantis has signed into law Florida’s “anti-riot” bill, which increases penalties for crimes committed during riots and is aimed at “combating public disorder.”
“If you look at the breadth of this particular piece of legislation, it is the strongest anti-rioting, pro-law enforcement piece of legislation in the country,” DeSantis said at a press conference. “There’s just nothing even close.”
Florida’s Senate passed the bill last week 23-17. It was seen as a response to protests around the country stemming from police brutality against African Americans.
The law, which goes into effect immediately, grants civil legal immunity to people who drive through protesters blocking a road and allows authorities to hold arrested demonstrators from posting bail until after their first court date. The legislation increases the charge for battery on a police officer during a riot and adds language that could force local governments to justify a reduction in law enforcement budgets.
Republicans say the bill would protect law enforcement officers and help prevent public disorder following recent unrest in the U.S.
Good. This should be the norm in every state in the country. There is no good reason to allow people to act out and destroy property and hurt others.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
The jury in the trial of Derek Chauvin has found the former Minneapolis police officer guilty on all counts—second- and third-degree murder, and manslaughter—in the death of George Floyd.
On Tuesday a pair of individuals were injured when a U.S. Army helicopter crashed at a training base in southern Alabama, military officials said, according to the Associated Press.
Fort Rucker officials, according to the AP report, stated in a press release that the “aviation mishap” involved a UH-72 Lakota helicopter during flight training. The crash occurred at Fort Rucker’s Brown Stagefield heliport near New Brockton.
Officials at Fort Rucker, the Army’s primary training center for helicopter pilots, did not immediately release information about what could have caused the incident, which occurred Tuesday morning, according to Coffee County officials cited by the WDHN station.
While both of those aboard the helicopter were evacuated for medical treatment, no fatalities were reported, according to the AP. The aircraft also suffered damage.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) blasted Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.) for recent comments she made which Republicans have argued amount to inciting violence.
“Let’s be clear: Maxine Waters knew her rhetoric would incite violence in Minneapolis—but she doesn’t care, she just requests police escorts for herself,” Scalise tweeted Monday.
The Louisiana Republican also brought up how he was shot during a 2017 Republican practice for the annual Congressional Baseball Game, saying, “I was shot because of this kind of dangerous rhetoric. Where is the outrage from Dems & the media? They need to condemn this.”
Let's be clear: Maxine Waters knew her rhetoric would incite violence in Minneapolis—but she doesn't care, she just requests police escorts for herself.
I was shot because of this kind of dangerous rhetoric.
Where is the outrage from Dems & the media? They need to condemn this.
This past weekend, Waters visited Brooklyn Center, Minnesota to join the ongoing protests against the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright by a police officer. While there, the 15-term congresswoman commented on the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the May 2020 death of George Floyd that sparked protests across the nation and the world against police brutality and systemic racism.
“[Protestors] got to stay on the street and we have got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational,” Waters said about if Chauvin is acquitted on murder charges. “We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business.”
She also said that protestors “have got to fight for justice.”
While Republicans across the board have been criticizing Waters for her comments, high-profile Democrats such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) have defended her.
“No [she shouldn’t apologize], Maxine talked about confrontation in the manner of the Civil Rights movement,” Pelosi told reporters on Monday, according to The New York Post. She also accused Republicans of taking Waters’ comments out of context.
Waters has stood by her comments, telling The Grio: “I am nonviolent.”
“Republicans will jump on any word, any line and try to make it fit their message and their cause for denouncing us and denying us, basically calling us violent — any time they see an opportunity to seize on a word, so they do it and they send a message to all of the white supremacists, the KKK, the Oath Keepers, the [Proud] Boys and all of that, how this is a time for [Republicans] to raise money on [Democrats’] backs,” she said.
On Monday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced that he intends to introduce a resolution to censure the California Democrat, tweeting: “This weekend in Minnesota, Maxine Waters broke the law by violating curfew and then incited violence. Speaker Pelosi is ignoring Waters’ behavior—that’s why I am introducing a resolution to censure Rep. Waters for these dangerous comments.”
This weekend in Minnesota, Maxine Waters broke the law by violating curfew and then incited violence.
Speaker Pelosi is ignoring Waters’ behavior—that’s why I am introducing a resolution to censure Rep. Waters for these dangerous comments.
U.S. Strategic Command suggested its adversaries may consider nuclear use in a statement released on Twitter Monday night.
“Posture Statement Preview: The spectrum of conflict today is neither linear nor predictable. We must account for the possibility of conflict leading to conditions which could very rapidly drive an adversary to consider nuclear use as their least bad option,” the account tweeted just before Midnight on Monday.
#USSTRATCOM Posture Statement Preview: The spectrum of conflict today is neither linear nor predictable. We must account for the possibility of conflict leading to conditions which could very rapidly drive an adversary to consider nuclear use as their least bad option. pic.twitter.com/4Oe7xkl05L
According to the Daily Mail, every year, the U.S. Strategic Command submits a Posture Review Statement to inform Congress of the current status of the roles, commitments, accomplishments, plans and needs of the agency.
It also determines the command’s readiness for combat, its strategic vision and likely causes of conflict in the near future.
According to a USSTRATCOM spokesperson, the tweet was a preview to testimony that will be given this week.
Commander Charles Richard will give a testimony to the House Armed Services Committee and the Senate Committee on Armed Services on Wednesday.
The purpose of the hearing is “to receive testimony in advance of the FY22 budget request in the context of overall posture of United States Strategic Forces and the stand-up of Space Command,” according to the House Armed Services Committee.
“We will provide strategic deterrence for the Nation and assurance of the same to our Allies and partners,” Richards said in a statement. “If deterrence fails, we are prepared to deliver a decisive response, decisive in every possible way; and … we will do this with a resilient, equipped, and trained combat-ready force.”
“A powerful, ready triad; a survivable nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) system; and a responsive nuclear weapons infrastructure are the foundation that enables strategic deterrence and assurance which is fundamental to our survival as a Nation, and deters adversaries from conducting nuclear and non-nuclear strategic attacks against our Nation, our Allies, and our partners,” the statement continues.
“To be clear, nuclear deterrence is the highest priority mission of the Department of Defense – our deterrent underwrites every U.S. military operation around the world and is the foundation and backstop of our national defense.”
Washington, D.C. Tuesday morning feels like any other day with some young professionals scurrying to the office and others grabbing a coffee or walking the dog before remote work, but an underlying tension can be felt among the populace as the verdict of the Derek Chauvin trial looms.
The prospect that violence could grip the city is a reality. Because of this, city officials say they have prepared for the worst and the Secretary of the Army has approved the activation of the National Guard. However, the 250 D.C. National Guard troops that are being activated to support the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department won’t be armed. They, instead, are expected to assist with street closures and to keep areas around the city safe. The President is the only one who can authorize the troops to arm “at this time, that’s not a plan.”, a spokeswoman for the National Guard said. She requested anonymity.
White House officials did not return an email seeking comment. This story will be updated if and when one is received.
The troops will be unarmed, a D.C. National Guard spokeswoman confirmed to reporter on Tuesday.
It was just last summer when rioters took hold of city streets, burned a church, looted businesses, and attacked law enforcement officers and members of the media. They did so in the name of racial justice after a video made waves on social media showing then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin with his knee on George Floyd’s neck as Floyd said multiple times “I can’t breathe.” Despite Floyd’s desperate calls, Chauvin didn’t let up the pressure for nearly nine minutes and Floyd died in police custody.
Rioters over the summer in D.C were met with pepper balls, rubber bullets, low flying helicopters were deployed and the Attorney General ‘flooded the zone’ with federal agents, troops, and police. According to Axios, the damage to businesses across the country was the most expensive in insurance history, costing over $1 billion.
The summer left reportedly over 2,000 law enforcement officers injured nationwide.
The jury is now deliberating Chauvin’s, who is charged in Floyd’s death, case after the prosecution and defense presented closing arguments on Monday.
A quick reaction force, however, could be approved by the Secretary of the Army.
“In the event the Metropolitan Police Department does require a quick reaction force, our soldiers and airmen will deploy to provide assistance in crowd management operations alongside law enforcement,” the D.C. National Guard spokeswoman said.
You can follow Jennie Taer on Twitter @JennieSTaer
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA, is dismissing claims that her remarks to “get more confrontational” if former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is acquitted could lead to the trial being “overturned” on appeal.
Waters had called for demonstrators to “get more confrontational” if no guilty verdict was reached in Chauvin case.
“We’ve got to stay on the street and we’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational. We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business,” Waters told a crowd of demonstrators Sunday night in Brooklyn Center, Minn.
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill Monday, Waters falsely claimed that her “words don’t matter.”
Waters then denied that her statements could lead to an appeal. When asked by a CNN reporter about the judge stating that her remarks could be grounds for appeal, she replied, “Oh no, no they didn’t.”
On Monday, Judge Peter Cahill told defense attorney Eric Nelson that the whole trial may be overturned.
“I’ll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned,” Cahill said.
Cahill said it was “disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch” for elected officials to comment on the outcome of the case.
“Their failure to do so, I think, is abhorrent,” he said. “But I don’t think it has prejudiced us with additional material that would prejudice this jury. They have been told not to watch the news. I trust they are following those instructions.”
“We have U.S. representatives threatening acts of violence in relation to this specific case, it’s mind boggling,” defense attorney Nelson said to Cahill.
Chauvin trial Judge Peter Cahill responds to defense request for a mistrial over comments by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA):
“I’ll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned.” pic.twitter.com/jPp7zl0iGd
Waters insisted that she was “nonviolent” and dismissed accusations that she had encouraged violence over the weekend while speaking to The Grio on Monday.
“I am nonviolent,” Waters said.
“Republicans will jump on any word, any line and try to make it fit their message and their cause for denouncing us and denying us, basically calling us violent … any time they see an opportunity to seize on a word, so they do it and they send a message to all of the white supremacists, the KKK, the Oath Keepers, the [Proud] Boys and all of that, how this is a time for [Republicans] to raise money on [Democrats’] backs.”
Waters told The Grio she is “not worried that they’re going to continue to distort what I say.”
“This is who they are and this is how they act,” she said. “And I’m not going to be bullied by them.”
“This is a time for [Republicans] to keep telling our constituents that [Democrats] are the enemy and they do that time and time again,” Waters said. “But that does not deter me from speaking truth to power. I am not intimidated. I am not afraid, and I do what needs to be done.”
Waters has been criticized by Republicans, with some calling for her expulsion from Congress.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Waters is a “danger to our society” and organized a petition to expel Waters from her position in Congress, saying that Waters has incited BLM/Antifa violence and riots for years.
Draconian coronavirus restrictions don’t appear to be going away. Despite ongoing progress with vaccinations against the virus, some government officials keep adding stricter regulations they say will curtail the spread.
But almost everyone is wondering when the government measures will end and question why restrictions are remaining in place if the vaccinations are successful in mitigating the spread of the disease.
In Canada, for instance, the Ottawa government has implemented checkpoints to stop traffic from Quebec from entering the city. Most Canadians are angry over the measures and feel they can’t do much to stop it. They, like their American counterparts, are concerned about civil liberties and government overreach.
One Canadian citizen responded to the post on Twitter by reminding people that “Section 9 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned. These checkpoints are grossly illegal.”
In the United States, mask mandates continue despite vaccinations and regardless of immunity due to exposure to the COVID-19 virus. Moreover, many public schools and employers are still implementing the same restrictions that initially began during the lockdowns over a year ago when the virus first started to spread in the U.S.
In Canada, residents have voiced their frustrations over the strict regulations that at one point led to the arrest of family members who visited a relatives home despite the nation’s six person gathering rule.
“Commuters were waiting an hour to get across interprovincial bridges as Ontario’s strict new stay-at-home order takes full effect. On the Quebec side, traffic on Highway 50 was backed up for several kilometres to la Vérendrye Boulevard.Ottawa police were not turning people around or ticketing on Monday, with stops initially aimed at “informing and sensitizing” people about the new restrictions.There are five bridges that connect Ottawa and Gatineau.Officers were also to be stationed at the Quyon and the Bourbonnais ferries.Ottawa police will question Ontario-bound travellers while Gatineau police are expected to screen those bound for Quebec, which has also announced interprovincial border control measures.“
Here’s a video Tweet from journalist Michel Boyer, in Canada that shows the checkpoint.
Section 9 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.
As the nation prepares for the verdict of Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd,Facebook officials said they will be removing content that calls for violence in Minneapolis.
In a statement from Facebook, Minneapolis is deemed by the company as a “high-risk location” due to the trial and potential verdict and officials are monitoring posts closely.
“As the trial of Derek Chauvin draws to a close, we are doing what we can to prepare for the verdict. This means preventing online content from being linked to offline harm and doing our part to keep our community safe.Our teams are working around the clock to look for potential threats both on and off of Facebook and Instagram so we can protect peaceful protests and limit content that could lead to civil unrest or violence. This includes identifying and removing calls to bring arms to areas in Minneapolis, which we have temporarily deemed to be a high-risk location. We will continue to monitor events on the ground to determine if additional locations will be deemed as temporary, high-risk locations. We are also working to protect the memory of George Floyd and members of the Floyd family from harassment and abuse. Under our policies, we will remove content that praises, celebrates or mocks George Floyd’s death.“
Whitmer’s trip came weeks after she warned the public against spring break trips, specifically to Florida.
Tiffany Brown, a spokesperson for Whitmer, said the Michigan governor traveled to Florida to visit her father who is fighting a chronic illness.
“The governor did not go on spring break, and she has not left the state in over a month,” Brown said in a statement. “In the past six months she has left the state three times, once for the inauguration, once to assist her elderly father who is battling chronic illness, and once to visit Michigan’s National Guard troops.”
Whitmer’s father “was fully vaccinated and the governor,” who was not vaccinated at the time, “is tested regularly and has never tested positive for COVID,” Brown said. “The trip was not paid for at taxpayers’ expense.”
Ted Goodman, the communications director of the state’s Republican Party, said Whitmer’s “blatant display of hypocrisy is an insult to every single Michigander impacted by her lockdown orders and travel warnings.”
“Not only did Whitmer and her top staffers vacation to Florida, but they tried to keep it secret because for Whitmer, it’s—rules for thee, but not for me.”
Chris Gustafson, a spokesman for the Republican Governors Association, said: “Whitmer’s rampant hypocrisy continues to insult hard-working Michiganders who struggle to get past her disastrous handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Two of Whitmer’s top staffers, including Michigan’s health director, vacationed in southern states despite Whitmer’s recommendation to avoid travel.
A number of Whitmer's top staffers have also been caught secretly traveling to Florida and Alabama for vacation, revealing an administration-wide attitude that they were above the people they serve.
Despite Michigan’s strict coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions, Michigan has reported the second-highest number of cases of a more contagious variant that was first identified in the U.K. Michigan also had the country’s worst infection rate earlier this month, the Associated Press reported.
Washington, D.C.’s chief medical examiner has ruled that Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick sustained two strokes and died of natural causes one day after he engaged against rioters at the January 6 Capitol attack, The Washington Postreported Monday afternoon.
Monday’s ruling will probably make it challenging for prosecutors to file homicide charges in Sicknick’s death. A pair of men are accused of assaulting Sicknick by employing a powerful chemical spray meant for bears at him during the riot and have been charged with assaulting the 42-year-old officer with a deadly weapon, but the two haven’t been charged with homicide.
Francisco Diaz, the medical examiner, told The Post in an interview that the autopsy discovered no evidence Sicknick experienced an allergic reaction to chemical irritants, which Diaz said would have resulted in Sicknick’s throat quickly seizing. No evidence of internal or external injuries was found, the medical examiner also reportedly said.
Diaz, according to The Post, noted that Sicknick, who had been with Capitol Police since 2008, was among the hundreds of officers who confronted the violent mob at the U.S. Capitol and said “all that transpired played a role in his condition.”
After returning to his office during the riot, Sicknick collapsed and then died about eight hours later on January 7.
Researchers find risk of developing herpes zoster, also known as shingles, likely rises for patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIIRD).
"20 to 40 buses plus flights arriving at MSP daily, buses and planes arriving full of passengers with riot gear, arriving with helmets, arriving with gas masks."
'We must recognize in legislation that the trampling of indigenous rights is a cause of climate change. The trampling of racial justice is a cause of climate change.'
For Altou, a 19-year-old model, having a ‘slim thick’ body is the key to getting more likes and more work.
She’s one of thousands of women worldwide who have taken Apetamin, an appetite-stimulant promoted by social media influencers as a quick fix for the extreme hourglass figure popularised by celebrities like Kim Kardashian.
It’s widely available online. But a new BBC Three documentary, Dangerous Curves: Get Thicc, Get Sick?, reveals that many don’t realise Apetamin is actually an unlicensed medicine - and its misuse is causing serious harm.
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) told the BBC, ‘Apetamin is an unauthorised medicine which should not be sold, supplied or advertised without a licence. Taking unauthorised medicines can have serious health consequences’.
The MHRA is investigating the sale of this product following the BBC’s enquiries.
Dangerous Curves: Get Thicc, Get Sick? is on BBC iPlayer now
On Tuesday, former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin was found guilty on multiple counts relating to the death of George Floyd, but CNN convicted the accused before the jury was given a chance to conclude deliberation.
Chauvin was found guilty of third-degree murder, second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter. He will be sentenced in May.
But in its fanatical coverage of jury deliberations, prior to a verdict being reached, far-left CNN actually ran a graphic labeling Floyd’s death a “killing.”
By Tuesday, the country had been given nearly a year to digest the culture shock that became the death of Floyd. We recently learned a great deal about the moments leading up to Floyd’s death — thanks to the trial being streamed online and on TV daily.
The defense presented extremely relevant information about Floyd’s mental state, apparent drug use and preexisting medical conditions. It soon became abundantly clear there was a story to be told that could not be seen from one viral video purporting to show Chauvin callously suffocating Floyd.
If you watched the trial, you could argue that Chuavin’s defense team proved its case to — at a minimum — raise reasonable doubt that the former officer caused Floyd’s death with malice or careless disregard. A jury of six white, four black and two multiracial Americans ultimately concluded that Floyd was killed by Chauvin.
But CNN had preceded them in convicting the former cop.
None of the facts ever mattered to CNN and its army of left-wing activist reporters. Floyd’s death was labeled a “killing” by the network before the legal process had played out.
So uh…. looks like @CNN has already decided, definitively and without a jury’s decision that this was a “killing”? Seems awfully irresponsible to be making that sort of assumption…. pic.twitter.com/V1xIrF3Osf
Buried in that graphic was an inference: George Floyd, a black man who lived a life that was pure, was murdered by not only a white cop, but snuffed out by a white imperial system that disregards the lives of minority Americans to further institutionalize white supremacy.
Floyd, in death, has been deemed a martyr. Marxist activists and other people not affiliated with CNN have portrayed his death as the single most important event in American history.
Floyd’s death, to CNN and others, ripped the veil off of a country they all hate.
To these people, Floyd’s death exposed us as all collectively as irredeemably racist. To CNN, our country spent two and a half centuries mistreating people both domestically and across the globe.
Despite our country’s storied and relatively short history, to the left, all policies and undertakings great and righteous were voided when we arrived at a moment last May where a black man died following a run-in with a white cop.
To CNN, the facts were always immaterial. To CNN and WarnerMedia, objectivity was officially retired when voters rejected Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016.
CNN, before a verdict had been reached in the Chauvin case, after having viewed a trial that told another side of the story, avoided being impartial. In a single graphic, CNN wanted to tell us that Floyd’s death was a vile, race-inspired murder with roots in slavery.
Unlike the jurors, CNN never faced pressure to convict under the threat of violence. CNN simply pushed its agenda.
George Floyd died after an encounter with police on May 25, 2020 — that much was never disputed. CNN, like Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California, President Joe Biden and other Democrats, wanted a conviction immediately and at any cost — and they all preempted one.
That all stands to reason.
Chauvin was not the only one on trial. Our country and its values were also being tried in Minnesota by the mainstream media. The corporate activist reporters, Democrats and others who desire to forever smear us all collectively as homicidal slave traders secured a conviction for not only Chauvin but for our entire American way of life.
That verdict was reached by the mainstream media as far back as last spring.
The jury’s decision on Tuesday was merely a convenient buttress for a conclusion that was reached by CNN and others long ago.
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Welcome to the Sunshine State — just don’t vote stupid.
That was the message Polk County, Florida, Sheriff Grady Judd delivered Monday as he helped Gov. Ron DeSantis announce the state’s new law aimed at heading off the kind of major disturbances that have plagued too much of the country over the past year.
And longtime, sane residents of the perpetual political battleground state have to hope those newcomers take Judd’s advice.
“We’re a special place and there are millions and millions of people who like to come here, and quite frankly, we like to have them here,” Judd said at a news conference after the DeSantis signed the “anti-rioting” bill at a ceremony in Winter Haven, Polk County.
“So we only want to share one thing as you move in, hundreds a day: welcome to Florida, but don’t register to vote and vote the stupid way you did up north or you’ll get what they got,” Judd said.
It’s what Florida almost got only two years ago.
It’s almost been lost in the wave of publicity Republican DeSantis has been riding with Florida’s comparatively successful handling of the coronavirus pandemic, but the state that gave then-President Donald Trump an unexpectedly easy state victory in November came within a whisker of having a Democrat win the 2018 gubernatorial election.
While Trump won by 3 percent in 2020, according to The New York Times, DeSantis in the 2018 race narrowly defeated Democrat Andrew Gillum — who at the time was mayor of the state capital of Tallahassee — by about 10,000 votes out of more than 8 million cast, or only four-tenths of a percentage point, according to Politico.
Two years later, Gillum ended up in rehab after being found inebriated in a Miami Beach hotel room littered with apparent methamphetamines, possible prescription drugs and an overdose victim who happened to be a gay male escort, according to the New York Post.
Combine that tawdry development with the dishonesty and cynicism of Gillum’s campaign as documented by Project Veritas, and it’s pretty apparent the state dodged a bullet on that one — no thanks to its millions of Democratic voters.
Even in the coronavirus pandemic, DeSantis has made it a priority to keep the state running as close to normal as possible — schools have been open the entire school year, for instance, and there’s no statewide mask mandate. And despite the incessant doomsaying of liberals, its approximately 34,500 reported COVID-19 deaths put it well behind mandate-heavy California (over 61,000) and New York (over 51,000), according to data from Johns Hopkins.
Considering Florida is also third in population rankings, and considering its high population of elderly residents particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus, that’s no worse than could be expected, and probably a good deal better. (DeSantis never turned the state’s nursing homes into nurseries for the deadly disease like New York’s Andrew Cuomo did in his state.)
Meanwhile, Florida’s economy has borne up better than most other areas (and especially better than jurisdictions run by Democrats) with an unemployment rate in March of 4.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In California, the rate was 8.3 percent in March, according to the BLS. In New York, it was 8.5 percent, according to the BLS.
So Florida has dealt with the pandemic as well as most states have, and better than those of comparable size. Its weather is customarily beautiful (except for the odd hurricane), and its more than 600 miles of beaches and lack of a personal income tax make it an attractive location for potential new businesses and employers as well as tourists and Americans looking for a new state to call home.
It has a governor who’s up for re-election next year but is already being seriously talked about as a potential presidential candidate in 2024 (and is being attacked by the mainstream media that knows it).
What Florida doesn’t need is those newcomers to start bringing the kind of Democratic policies that have plagued northern counterparts like New York and New Jersey (COVID-19 death toll 25,206, according to Johns Hopkins data; March unemployment 7 .7 percent, according to the BLS).
Naturally, Judd’s message had plenty of critics in the social media cesspool of Twitter, but it resonated with plenty of other users, too.
He says what’s majority of us feel…if you don’t like it use I-75, I-95 and I-10 and don’t come back.
They behave like viruses. They destroy their own hosts (blue states) with their asinine Democrat politics and then spread to the healthy red states to flee the consequences of liberal policies. Then the repeat the cycle trying to destroy their new states with Democrat politics.
— Biden and his Masked Sheep (@TheMaskedSheep) April 20, 2021
He has no patience with the kind of lawlessness that ravaged the country’s cities last year and has already become a hallmark of the Biden administration this year.
And in this case, he hit the nail right on the head.
Like the ex-Californians who flee what used to be the Golden State, only to give their votes to Democrats in Texas, too many northeasterners leave their home states for Florida and bring their Democratic politics with them — and almost elect Democrats like Andrew Gillum to the state’s highest office.
With any luck, they might actually listen to Judd’s advice.
They’re welcome to the Sunshine State, of course. But maybe they could just stop voting stupid?
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
The Biden administration and Democrats have touted the so-called American Jobs Plan, a $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, as having bipartisan support — but a fact-checker just destroyed their facade.
The analysis Monday by FactCheck.org found that President Joe Biden and his team are spinning the public’s opinion on the matter.
The fact-checker noted that the White House has been using a poll from the Data for Progress and Invest in America that said 73 percent of likely voters supported the plan, including 57 percent of Republicans.
It cited Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s comments regarding the bill making the specious claim.
“What do modernized roads, reliable transit, safe water systems, clean energy, and millions of good-paying jobs have in common? Strong bipartisan support,” Buttigieg tweeted earlier this month, sharing the poll results.
“A new poll, released today by Invest in America and Data for Progress shows that President Biden’s American Jobs Plan is overwhelmingly popular with Americans of both parties. 73% of respondents, including 67% of Independents and 57% of Republicans, support the American Jobs Plan,” the release said.
“The President is proposing a plan that America needs, and this poll proves his plan is what Americans want,” it said.
So why should the poll the administration used not be taken seriously?
According to the fact-checker, Data for Progress and Invest for America are left-leaning organizations and the polling question was skewed to help the Democrats’ messaging.
Here the question they posed to likely voters, which left out the more controversial parts of the bill:
The American Jobs Plan is a proposal to spend $2.25 trillion on infrastructure investments over eight years. The plan includes funding for the following:
• Repairing roads, bridges, and schools. • Repairing drinking water systems. • Investing in American manufacturing. • Expanding internet service. • Modernizing America’s electrical grid. • Creating millions of good-paying jobs in a modern American energy sector. • Funding the cleanup of mines and abandoned gas wells.
Do you support or oppose the American Jobs Plan?
“By our calculation, using a breakdown of spending provided by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, those listed items make up, generously, a little more than half the spending in the bill,” FactCheck.org said.
“As we have written, Democrats have taken a more expansive view of infrastructure to include such things as elder care, child care, and research and development,” it said.
Top 10 Weaving Podcasts Contents [show] ⋅About this list & ranking Weaving Podcasts Weave Professional Weaver Podcast The Long Thread Podcast Material Culture: A Weaving Podcast The Woven Road Weaving Community w/Amy D. McKnight Submit Blog Do you want more traffic, leads, and sales? Submit your blog below if you want to grow your traffic and revenue. […]
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Chris Cuomo: White People’s Kids Need To Start Getting Killed For Police Reform To Happen.
CNN's Chris Cuomo: "And you know what the answer is. You really do. You don’t like it. I don’t like. It scares me. Shootings, gun laws, access to weapons? Oh, I know when they’ll change,” Cuomo said. “Your kids start getting killed. White people’s kids start getting killed. Smoking that doobie that’s actually legal, probably in your state now, but they don’t know what it was, and then the kid runs, and then ‘Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!’ Cop was justified.”
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HALF MOON BAY, Calif., April 6, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Treadstone 71 announced today the release of the much-awaited and industry-leading Strategic Intelligence Analysis training certification. The in-depth, on-demand course breaks down intelligence collection and analysis complexities over 12-weeks of lectures, exercises, quizzes, and hands-on case studies.
The certification includes all aspects of the pioneering Cyber Intelligence Tradecraft, Certified Cyber Intelligence Analyst course combined with comprehensive instruction on all strategic intelligence elements. The course also includes extended lectures and exercises for analytic writing and structured analytic techniques.
“The Strategic Intelligence Analysis Certification covers all aspects of building cyber intelligence programs, interacting with stakeholders, building intelligence requirements, establishing adversary threat matrices, planning for intelligence collection through execution of analytic methods,” said Jeff Bardin, Chief Intelligence Officer for Treadstone 71.
He adds, “Students and corporate teams completing this program of study are ready to analyze, write, and forecast adversary activities that can prevent cyber-attacks. We believe this course is a game-changer that shifts the paradigm away from after-the-fact indicators of compromise analysis to what Intelligence is intended to be.”
The course provides instruction in a crawl-walk-run method that gives students the confidence to execute tasks throughout the cyber intelligence lifecycle. Templates and examples show students effective practices that are both descriptive and prescriptive while at the same time allowing for adapting the practices to corporate culture.
Organizations looking to build or mature their cyber intelligence program find this course of study a natural next step in establishing resilient and sustainable intelligence capabilities that assist leadership in decision-making.
“We deliver several hands-on exercises complete with templates and examples,” continued Bardin. “We intend to send each student back to their corporate environments armed with the knowledge necessary to immediately enhance their existing programs or start new programs with a foundation rooted in excellence. Teams taking the course learn how to think independently, establishing strong unit bonds crossing technical, tactical, and strategic boundaries.”
About Treadstone 71 LLC:
Treadstone 71 ( https://www.treadstone71.com/ ), founded in 2002, is a woman and veteran-owned small business delivering cyber Intelligence, counterintelligence, strategic analysis, clandestine cyber HUMINT, OSINT training and analysis, cyber psychological and target acquisition operations.
For more information, call (331) 999-0071 or email [email protected].
DALLAS, Texas, April 5, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Baxter Clewis Consulting, an international consultancy on cyber security, announced today that it has joined the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) as a new Participating Organization. Baxter Clewis will work with the PCI SSC to help secure payment data worldwide through the ongoing development and adoption of the PCI Security Standards.
The PCI SSC leads a global, cross-industry effort to increase payment security by providing flexible, industry-driven and effective data security standards and programs. The keystone is the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which provides an actionable framework for developing a robust payment card data security process and preventing, detecting and mitigating criminal attacks and breaches.
As a Participating Organization, Baxter Clewis adds its voice to the standards development process and will collaborate with a growing community of more than 800 Participating Organizations to improve payment security worldwide. Baxter Clewis will also have the opportunity to recommend new initiatives for consideration to the PCI Security Standards Council and share cross-sector experiences and best practices at the annual PCI Community Meetings.
“In an era of increasingly sophisticated attacks on systems, PCI Security Standards and resources help organizations secure payment data and prevent, detect and mitigate attacks that can lead to costly data breaches,” said Lance Johnson, Executive Director of the PCI Security Standards Council. “By joining as a Participating Organization, Baxter Clewis demonstrates they are playing an active part in improving payment security globally by helping drive awareness and adoption of PCI Security Standards.”
“Using third-party service providers is an organizational risk from a supply chain, security, and compliance standpoint. Companies should have the assurance that their systems and PCI data is appropriately managed and secured by third-party service providers,” said Boyd Clewis, VP of Baxter Clewis Consulting. Baxter Clewis enables service-providers to enhance security and compliance programs while reducing risk with systems, processes, and automation. We are proud to partner with PCI Standards Council, and we look forward to helping address risk related to third-party service providers.
About the PCI Security Standards Council
The PCI Security Standards Council is a global forum that is responsible for the development, management, education, and awareness of the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and other standards that increase payment data security. Connect with the PCI Council on LinkedIn. Join the conversation on Twitter @PCISSC. Subscribe to the PCI Perspectives Blog.
About Baxter Clewis Consulting
Baxter Clewis Consulting is an international cybersecurity firm specializing in helping service providers meet security and compliance requirements to secure vital company data, enhance efficiency, and protect profitability. Learn more about Baxter Clewis Consulting by connecting on LinkedIn and visiting the Baxter Clewis website at https://www.baxterclewis.com/.
HERNDON, Va., March 26, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Aristi Technologies, Inc. announced that it is among the first firms to become an accredited Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Third-Party Assessor Organization (C3PAO) and Registered Provider Organization (RPO) by the CMMC Accreditation Body (CMMC-AB). C3PAOs are the only organizations authorized to conduct CMMC assessments.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) created the CMMC program to enhance the protection of sensitive data, namely, controlled unclassified information (CUI) and federal contract information (FCI), within the Defense Department’s multi-tiered supply chain of more than 300,000 companies. CMMC is specifically designed for small and mid-sized suppliers as they are more vulnerable to cyber threats in the supply chain.
These small and mid-sized contractors are increasingly being targeted by nation-state attackers; they have limited internal resources and cybersecurity expertise to adequately secure their systems and safeguard sensitive customer data.
“Aristi is honored to achieve C3PAO and RPO credentials, demonstrating our commitment to the CMMC program in supporting the DoD’s mission to secure the defense supply chain,” said Neel Gopalani, Aristi’s vice president, and a CMMC-AB Registered Practitioner (RP). “Our CMMC practice is a natural extension of our cybersecurity compliance and assessment services that we’ve provided for more than a decade.”
Over the last year, Aristi has helped small and mid-sized government contractors prepare for complying with CMMC security requirements. Aristi’s CMMC consulting services include: boundary scoping, gap assessments, remediation support, security documentation and readiness assessments. As a C3PAO and RPO, Aristi will continue to help federal contractors effectively navigate the DoD’s new cybersecurity certification process.
About Aristi Technologies
Aristi Technologies is a cybersecurity consulting firm based in the Washington DC metro area. For more than a decade, it’s provided cybersecurity risk and compliance services to organizations, nationwide, including federal agencies, government contractors, and cloud-service providers.
Aristi delivers tailored and affordable solutions to achieve compliance with federal cyber compliance standards including National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) 800-53, NIST 800-171 (the core of the CMMC framework), Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) and Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP).
MEDIA CONTACT: Neel Gopalani of Aristi +1-703-459-6268 [email protected]
DETROIT, Mich., March 18, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — UBX Cloud is the first U.S. based cloud services provider to offer Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) cloud enclaves.
The CMMC represents the Department of Defense’s continued effort to protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in the defense supply chain. Building on the 110 controls set forth in NIST SP 800-171, the CMMC specifies 173 security practices across five maturity processes. Starting in fiscal year 2021, the department will pilot the implementation of CMMC requirements for Level 3 and below.
UBX Cloud now includes CMMC-compliant Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) cloud enclaves in their service offerings, as a way for suppliers and contractors to fast-track themselves into CMMC compliance. UBX Cloud promises full service at a flat rate and per user basis for an easy comprehensive package.
“Our company and our team is always focused on the simplest approach and solution to things, and in this case with our CMMC enclaves there is no difference,” said Steve Panovski, UBX Cloud president. “UBX Cloud brings a tremendous amount of value to simplify the path to compliance while providing modern cloud solutions and simplifying IT complexity, or as just a bonus.”
UBX Cloud caters specifically to the IT MSPs and MSSPs market, as well as corporate IT and Chief Technology Officers, taking the complexity out of the CMMC process with flat rate assessment services and fast deployment. The all-in white label packages include Cybersecurity services, CMMC consultancy, and VMWare-powered cloud infrastructure to provide deeper discounts, and eliminates the need for any heavy upfront investment.
About UBX Cloud
UBX Cloud is a Michigan-based cloud service provider with data centers in the United States, South America and India. Our services include Managed IT-as-a-Service, Private/Hybrid Cloud, Disaster Recovery, Cloud Workspaces, Veeam Cloud Backup, and a variety of custom IT consulting services. Our team of IT Engineers helps organizations of all kinds maintain uptime and ensure business continuity.
PITTSBURGH, Pa., March 5, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Valentis today announced that Martha Hunter will become the company’s first-ever Vice President of Strategy, effective March 2021. She fills a new position helping the company meet growing demand for expansion. Valentis is committed to an aggressive plan that focuses on messaging and education to advance its security solution, supply chain, and risk management consulting services worldwide.
Martha Hunter comes from the marketing industry where she was a Business Development Executive for six years. Hunter’s new position will be responsible for developing and implementing the strategic growth initiatives for Valentis using her experience and resolve to meet objectives to Valentis.
“Valentis already has a reputation for breaking the mold in the security and investigations industry. I have spent my career challenging people and companies to think differently and ask the question ‘Why not us? Valentis’s culture, values and leadership style embodies that spirit,” says V.P. of Strategy Hunter.
She adds, “Strategy development is not a once-a-year thing anymore, it’s ongoing and needs to come with recommendations and actions and the company needs to be willing to act. I’m honored to have the opportunity to play a role in the execution piece of strategy, and I’m thrilled to join a women-owned, purpose driven company and look forward to driving new possibilities for our people, our customers and our stakeholders.”
Marnie Sutch, CEO, of Valentis welcomed Martha to her new position, stating, “The addition of Martha to our team is about her ability to bring innovation and change to Valentis. The ability to deliver a professional service that delivers a driven result for our clients is a team effort and having Martha strengthens our team.”
About Valentis:
Valentis is a fully operational security logistics and risk management solution for a variety of clients and security concerns. We are growing domestically, and envision global ventures, with services and products under development to create a network of global affiliates, lead through branding, and expand our clients; financial institutions, governments, religious facilities, maritime, cybersecurity, combined with specially developed training, software and telecommunication consultancy, and more. We are mindful and committed and care about our clients, team, and shareholders.
ALAMO, Calif., March 2, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Essential to managing today’s and the future electric grid is data—its movement and security. GRIDEON developed by GridBright (gridbright.com) under an award from the US Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA-E) addresses this need.
It was created in collaboration with a team of cybersecurity and utility industry experts from BetterGrids Foundation (Bettergrids.org), Midcontinent Independent System Operator (misoenergy.org), and Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative (mcecoop.com). Over 40 organizations across the grid value chain have contributed to defining the requirements for GRIDEON.
“MCEC needed to share critical data with a strategic partner. Internet and email were not sufficiently secure. For years the method was walking a USB key to the partner for exchange. GRIDEON is a better way,” says Keith Sturkie, VP of IT at MCEC. “GRIDEON improved our security posture and lowered our costs.”
GRIDEON is an open-source-based suite of easy-to-use cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, technologies, enablement and support services, and standards that provide the full set of capabilities required to instantiate any type of secure grid data exchange.
GRIDEON efficiently ensures secure and compliant grid data exchange among all-electric ecosystem participants encompassing the entire electric value chain from generation to consumers (prosumers) spanning business and real-time operations.
It accommodates the creation of multiple types of exchanges necessitated by the utility industry’s grid data sharing applications such as collaboration, real-time system integration, publication-subscriber, one-to-many, among just a few.
Secure Grid Collaboration is the second service established on GRIDEON. The first is the BetterGrids Grid Model Repository that is presently used in 45 countries. BetterGrids.org is a free library of curated, non-sensitive grid models shared voluntarily by grid researchers. It includes synthetic and anonymized grid models and uses a rigorous curation process to ensure data quality. AI tools for semantic and natural language searching allow researchers to find their desired test data easily.
Secure Grid Collaboration extends the GRIDEON service reach. It establishes core grid data exchange standards that drive cost efficiency and management efficacy for foundational exchange artifacts such as nondisclosure agreements (NDA) between counterparties. It provides the foundation for future process management and real time services in emergency management and DER integration and beyond.
It also implements the enabling processes for secure grid data exchanges such as participant registration and advanced encryption key services that support exchange operations, security, and compliance.
Girding these key elements is a support organization providing 24 x 7 help, operations, and technical support functions required by the operational nature of many of the exchanges a typical utility will implement.
GridBright Inc. – https://www.gridbright.com/ – specializes in secure grid integration. Its services and solutions span the full electric value chain, safely interconnecting renewable and distributed energy resources to the grid, implementing and integrating modern computer applications for grid operations and planning, and providing solutions for the secure exchange of grid data among grid value chain participants.
MEDIA ONLY CONTACT Stephen J Callahan CMO, GridBright +1-415-846-6018 (media only) [email protected]
PHOENIX, Ariz., Feb. 23, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) –- TAG CXO, a provider of fractional IT executives, appointed Dan Streufert to lead its new IT Infrastructure practice area located in Phoenix, Arizona. In this role, Streufert is responsible to lead and develop the delivery teams helping TAG CXO clients build the robust and durable IT operating environments needed for growth and efficiency.
By optimizing critical IT infrastructures, clients benefit from much greater simplicity, overall security, and scalability. As practice lead, Streufert will serve existing clients, develop new clients and build the delivery bench, leading TAG CXOs infrastructure services across its national network of fractional executives.
Mr. Streufert comes to TAG CXO with broad experience designing, engineering, and implementing optimized IT infrastructures across large multi-national, multi-site businesses in the manufacturing and real estate industries. Most recently, Streufert was Principal Systems Architect for co-working giant WeWork, and formerly directed global IT operations for medical device manufacturers, Viant Medical and The Tech Group, as Head of IT. His clients have also included companies in the construction industry such as Buesing Corporation, Centuri Construction and NPL Construction. He holds a Bachelor of Business and Information Systems from the University of Phoenix.
“Dan Streufert is easily one of the best hiring decisions I made during my corporate career, and it’s a joy to be working together again,” said Paul Theisen, enthusiastically. “Dan is always professional, technically current, insatiably curious, humble yet driven, and has a very astute business mind,” Theisen described. “Now, 25 years into his career and seasoned with a depth of global-enterprise experience, Dan’s unique qualifications are available to the benefit of TAG CXO clients.” “To sum it all up,” Theisen concluded, “Dan has a certain techno-functional-engineering-business-leadership genius he brings into every interaction; and he really exemplifies the TAG CXO promise – to provide our clients with the best enterprise-level, industry-trained, battle-tested IT leaders…not career consultants.”
Based in Phoenix, Arizona, TAG CXO is a privately held company, providing Interim and Fractional IT leadership executives, founded in 2019. The company maintains a bench of industry-trained, enterprise-level executives, available on-demand to mid-market CEOs. TAG CXO executives help to round-out a firm’s leadership team and close the IT talent gap with fully qualified expertise, offering a more affordable, lower-risk option than hiring full-time staff. Learn more at: https://tagcxo.com/.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 2, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants is pleased to welcome John Prentis and Larry Bowlus to its Executive Risk and Cyber practice. Joining from a global broker, Prentis and Bowlus will focus on large public, technology, and financial institution executive liability coverages, including Directors & Officers Liability as well as Errors & Omissions, General Partnership Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Fiduciary, Crime, and Kidnap & Ransom.
The senior team of Prentis and Bowlus brings a combined experience of 50 years in the industry. Prentis most recently co-led Aon’s Financial Services Group in San Francisco, providing advisory and placement services for a variety of executive lines. Bowlus served as senior vice president and team leader within the same group, specializing in D&O and management liability insurance programs for public and private companies. Both bring a breadth of experience across industry groups, with deep experience handling executive risks for technology, life science companies and financial institutions, among many others in the public and private sectors.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome John and Larry to EPIC,” said Steve Denton, EPIC CEO. “Their experience serving large publicly traded clients and deep expertise in the technology sector fits perfectly with our deep resources currently deployed in the large account risk management sector. In fact, they will work closely with our Policy Response Unit focused on complex shareholder claims and our Analytics practice where we perform risk modeling and benchmarking analysis.”
Prentis and Bowlus will lend significant expertise to EPIC’s Executive Risk and Cyber practice, which emphasizes a holistic approach to identifying, understanding and managing risks.
“We’re fortunate to add two senior risk advisors and brokers in John and Larry to our team of experts,” said Kelly Geary, EPIC National Practice Leader, Executive Risk and Cyber. “Our clients will benefit instantly from their perspective and expertise, particularly in today’s challenging and dynamic marketplace.”
Prentis and Bowlus will work from the firm’s San Francisco office.
EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants has more than 2,600 team members operating from more than 80 offices across the U.S., providing Property and Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs, and Private Client solutions to EPIC clients. For more information on EPIC, visit: https://epicbrokers.com/.
WARRENTON, Va. and Pittsburgh, Pa., Feb. 2, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Pulsar Global Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Valentis, a defense and risk management firm, announces the acquisition of Blueshield Security and Investigations, LLC based in Warrenton, VA. The acquisition by Pulsar Global brings to realization the investigation unit of Valentis Security.
Pulsar Global Solutions is a new concept developed by Valentis that will provide investigative and intelligence services to commercial and government clients as well as individuals.
Blueshield Security & Investigations, LLC has been serving Fauquier and surrounding counties since 2006. Blueshield provides a full service private investigative business that specializes in domestic cases with a very high success rate. Case expertise include suspect cold case murder investigations, white collar crime, fraud, missing persons, accident investigations, and background investigations.
“It is with a happy heart and a desire to expand the business that I have decided to hand the business over to a new owner. Valentis Security has the experience and manpower to both take Blueshield into new directions, while continuing to service businesses and citizens with private investigative needs. The new staff at Blueshield will continue to ‘Find the Truth’ by doing the right thing for the right reasons, as we always have, said Elizabeth Kurtz, President of Blueshield.
“I guarantee you will find that under this new ownership, more can be accomplished. My thanks to all past and present clientele for allowing us to be there for you when you needed us. I have every confidence that you will continue to share your future needs with the new owners,” said Kurtz.
“Today we added a new piece to the puzzle with Blue Shield Security and Investigations LLC. This new piece brings Pulsar Global to market and helps our parent company, Valentis Security, grow stronger with more concepts to service clients,” said Daniel Ries, Executive Director of Pulsar Global Solutions.
Pulsar Global will operate as Blueshield until the State of Virginia finalizes the registration paperwork. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
About Valentis:
Valentis is a fully operational security logistics and risk management solution for a variety of clients and security concerns. We are growing domestically, and envision global ventures, with services and products under development to create a network of global affiliates, lead through branding, and expand our clients; financial institutions, governments, religious facilities, maritime, cybersecurity, combined with specially developed training, software and telecommunication consultancy, and more. We are mindful and committed and care about our clients, team, and shareholders.
PITTSBURGH, Pa., Jan. 27, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Valentis is pleased to announce the addition of Jerry Clark to its team as a consultant to help facilitate strategic business development and growth for Valentis locally, regionally, and nationally. Clark’s role will also include guest spots to share his insight and expertise on the “Marnie and Martha” Valentis produced podcast series.
Jerry Clark is a security-management expert with over 30 years of experience in local and federal law enforcement. In his federal law enforcement career, he served as Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).
He retired from the FBI’s Pittsburgh Division in June 2011. Prior to retirement he was the lead investigator on “Collar Bomb,” FBI Major Case #203, also known as the “Pizza Bomber” case – one of the select few Major Cases in the FBI’s history.
Clark has an extensive background in public-safety leadership, complex investigations, law enforcement intelligence, special weapons and tactics, and threat, risk, vulnerability assessments. He holds a B.A. in Psychology, an M.A. in Forensic Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Public Safety with a Specialization in Criminal Justice. He is the co-author of “Pizza Bomber: The Untold Story of America’s Most Shocking Bank Robbery,” “A History of Heists: Bank Robbery in America,” “Mania and Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong: Inside the Mind of a Female Serial Killer” and “On the Lam: A History of Hunting Fugitives in America.” Clark has been Featured on a number of national television networks and media outlets to include Netflix – “Evil Genius,” NBC Dateline – “Death Trap,” CNN – “CNN Presents” and the Discovery Channel – “FBI Criminal Pursuits.”
About Valentis:
Valentis is a fully operational security logistics and risk management solution for a variety of clients and security concerns. We are growing domestically, and envision global ventures, in risk management and security logistics with services and products under development to create a network of global affiliates, lead through branding, and expand our clients; financial institutions, governments, religious facilities, maritime, cybersecurity, combined with specially developed training, software and telecommunication consultancy, and more. We are mindful and committed and care about our clients, team, and shareholders. Learn more: https://valentissecurity.com/.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris urged Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 on Tuesday night after a Minnesota jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd.
Vice President Kamala Harris (L) listens as US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the guilty verdict against former policeman Derek Chauvin at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 20, 2021. – Derek Chauvin, a white former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted on April 20 of murdering African-American George Floyd after a racially charged trial that was seen as a pivotal test of police accountability in the United States. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
“Here’s the truth about racialinjustice,” she continued. “It is not just a black Americaproblem or a people of colorproblem.It is a problem for everyAmerican.It is keeping us from fulfillingthe process of liberty andjustice for all, and it is holding our nationback from realizing our fullpotential.We are all a part of GeorgeFloyd’s legacy, and our job now is to honor itand honor him.”
“Let’s also be clear, such averdict is also much too rare,” he stated. “As we saw in this trialfrom the fellow police officerswho testified, most men andwomen who wear the badge servetheir communities honorably, but those few who failed to meetthat standard must be heldaccountable.”
“We can’t stop here.In order to live a real changein reform, we can, and we must domore to reduce the likelihoodthat tragedy like this will ever happen to occur again,” the president said in closing. “This can be a moment of significant change.”
You can watch the president and vice president’s remarks in their entirety below.
House Democrats Tuesday blocked consideration of a bipartisan bill seeking to help the government better combat the growing number of migrants at the southern border.
The bill, titled the Border Surge Response and Resilience Act, sought to enhance security along the southern border, create a strategy to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in migrant shelters, crack down on the smuggling and human trafficking across the border and more. It was led by New York Republican Rep. John Katko, and co-sponsored by Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar.
The bill’s consideration failed 206-216.
“The Border Surge Response and Resilience Act is a commonsense approach to preparing for future migrant surges and is a direct response to a recommendation of the bipartisan and effective Homeland Security Advisory Council,” Katko said Tuesday on the House floor.
Minors talk to an agent outside a pod at the Department of Homeland Security holding facility run by the Customs and Border Patrol on March 30, 2021 in Donna, Texas. (Dario Lopez-Mills – Pool/Getty Images)
The bill also authorized a $1 billion fund for the Department of Homeland Security to use once the response plan outlined went into effect. The fund, which DHS could pull from as needed, meant that the agency would not have had to reallocate its own budget to pay for food, transportation, first-aid or other essential goods and services for the increasing number of migrants.
While migrant surges have occurred in the past, DHS projections show that the current increase could last through September, with as many as 26,000 unaccompanied children reaching the border by then alone. The increase means the government would need an extra 34,000 beds by September to meet the surge in unaccompanied minors.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in March that crossings were on pace to hit a 20-year high, even as the U.S. expelled the majority of single adults and families.
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CNN legal analyst Laura Coates suggested that police and elected officials increased security because they received advanced notice that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin could be found innocent.
“You are telling me, if it’s boarded up, you anticipate my unrest, my wrath, you anticipate the evolution of a protest into looting and other things,” Coates said. “And so part of what you’re seeing and part of the unease that you’re speaking about, Van, is that Pavlovian reflex and response to say, ‘what does this mean?'”
“If you are calling out the National Guard, people believe, ‘did you get a heads up, governor? Did you get a heads up, Mr. President? Did you give a heads up, judge? Do you know something that we do not know?'”
TIN FOIL HAT: CNN senior legal analyst Laura Coates suggests the boarding up of buildings and beefing up of security ahead of the verdict could be seen as proof local elected leaders and police received a heads up of what the verdict will be and it could be innocent. pic.twitter.com/jU9WQlxukb
The National Guard was activated in anticipation of the verdict in the trial over George Floyd’s death. Nationwide protests and riots broke out after Floyd’s death in May of 2020, and some feared that protests would again turn violent if Chauvin was found innocent.
Chauvin was found guilty of all charges brought against him – second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The jury’s verdict was announced Tuesday afternoon.
Former President Barack Obama reacted Tuesday to Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict in the death of George Floyd but said that “true justice requires much more.”
“Today, a jury did the right thing,” Obama tweeted to his millions of followers. “But true justice requires much more.”
Today, a jury did the right thing. But true justice requires much more. Michelle and I send our prayers to the Floyd family, and we stand with all those who are committed to guaranteeing every American the full measure of justice that George and so many others have been denied. pic.twitter.com/mihZQHqACV
“True justice requires that we come to terms with the fact that Black Americans are treated differently, every day,” Barack shared. “It requires us to recognize that millions of our friends, family, and fellow citizens live in fear that their next encounter with law enforcement could be their last.”
“And it requires us to do the sometimes thankless, often difficult, but always necessary work of making the America we know more like the America we believe in,” he added. “While today’s verdict may have been a necessary step on the road to progress, it was far from a sufficient one. We cannot rest.”
“We will need to follow through with the concrete reforms that will reduce and ultimately eliminate racial bias in our criminal justice system,” Obama continued. “We will need to redouble our efforts to expand economic opportunity for those communities that have been too long marginalized.”
George Floyd’s family attorney Ben Crump tweeted out a video of the Floyd family speaking on the phone with President Joe Biden after the jury found Derek Chauvin guilty on all three charges.
In a video posted to Crump’s Twitter account, one of Floyd’s family members can be heard saying, “how are you doing” after picking up the president’s call. “Feeling better now,” Biden said, “nothing is going to make it all better, but at least, God, now there’s some justice.”
President Biden and VP Harris call the Floyd family after the GUILTY verdict! Thank you @POTUS & @VP for your support! We hope that we can count on you for the police reform we NEED in America! ✊???? pic.twitter.com/cg4V2D5tlI
“You’re an incredible family. I wish I were there just to put my arms around you,” Biden remarked. “We’ve been watching every second of this and the vice president and all of us … we’re all so relieved. Not just one verdict, but all three. Guilty on all three counts,” he added.
“I’m anxious to see you guys, I really am,” Biden went on, “We’re going to get a lot more done … we’re going to stay at it ‘til we get it done.”
“Hopefully this is the momentum for the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act to get passed and have you sign,” Crump said in reply to Biden’s promise to get more done. “You got it, pal,” Biden replied, “That and a lot more.”
“This can be our first shot at dealing with genuine systemic racism,” Biden told the family before handing the phone off to Vice President Kamala Harris. “I’m just so thankful for the entire family. Your courage, your commitment, your strength,” the vice president said.
“This is a day of justice in America,” Harris went on to say, “Your family have been … real leaders at this moment where we needed you. And, in George’s name and memory, we are going to make sure his legacy is intact.”
Harris’ remarks to the family ended with, “We really do believe that with your leadership and … the president that we have in the White House, that we’re going to make something good come out of this tragedy, okay?” Floyd’s family and those gathered around them then thanked the vice president, but Biden had more to say.
“And you better all get ready because when we do it, we’re going to put you on Air Force One and get you here,” Biden said, prompting laughs from the group on the other end of the line. “We’re going to hold you to that, President Biden,” Crump replied.
“I guarantee it,” Biden responded.
The family also spoke to first lady Jill Biden before the call ended.
Award-winning producer Scott Rudin confirmed he would step back from his producing roles amid allegations of abuse from several former staffers surfaced.
Rudin first revealed he would be stepping back from his Broadway productions in a statement to the Washington Post on Saturday. He followed up with the decision to step back from all his producing roles in a statement Tuesday to Variety.
“When I commented over the weekend, I was focused on Broadway reopening successfully and not wanting my previous behavior to detract from everyone’s efforts to return,” Rudin told Variety. “It’s clear to me I should take the same path in film and streaming. I am profoundly sorry for the pain my behavior has caused and I take this step with a commitment to grow and change.” (RELATED: ‘He’s An Absolute Monster’: Hollywood Producer Scott Rudin Accused Of Abusing Staff)
“Everyone Just Knows He’s an Absolute Monster”: Scott Rudin’s Ex-Staffers Speak Out on Abusive Behavior https://t.co/CNm8mBi4DG
“Much has been written about my history of troubling interactions with colleagues, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain my behavior caused to individuals, directly and indirectly,” Rudin continued in the statement to the outlet.
Former staffers accused Rudin of abuse in an expose originally published by The Hollywood Reporter. Specifically, Rudin has been accused of physically abusing a staff member who failed to secure him a seat on a flight and throwing a glass bowl at another staffer, the outlet reported.
A post shared on Facebook claims Foot Locker, Inc. donated $200 million to Black Lives Matter.
Verdict: False
There is no evidence Foot Locker donated $200 million to Black Lives Matter. The company’s announcement of a $200 million pledge to help the black community through “economic development and education” does not mention the Black Lives Matter organization. The photo shows a Whole Foods store in Seattle.
Fact Check:
The post making the claim about Foot Locker allegedly donating to Black Lives Matter also includes a photo of a storefront with smashed windows. In the picture, a banner hanging above the doors says, “Racism has no place here. We support the Black community.” The post suggests the damaged storefront is a Foot Locker store.
While Foot Locker did announce in June 2020 that it is committing $200 million “towards enhancing the lives of its team members and customers in the Black community through economic development and education” over five years, there is no indication the company donated $200 million to Black Lives Matter. The announcement about the initiative, Leading Education & Economic Development (LEED), and the webpage detailing its efforts do not mention the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation.
The LEED initiative includes a $250,000 investment over five years to add 50 more scholarships for black team members through the Foot Locker Associate Scholarship Program and a $750,000 commitment to “building the next generation of Black designers through the development of multiple design education programs, scholarship opportunities, and internships and apprenticeship programs,” according to the Foot Locker website. Among other measures, it also includes $150,000 in new funding to increase the number of scholarships to the United Negro College Fund for the 2020-2021 academic year and a $5 million investment commitment to MaC Venture Capital, a “Black-led VC firm that is dedicated to advancing businesses with diverse leaders.”
The announcement for the LEED initiative further pledges efforts such as purchasing “more products from Black-owned businesses,” investing in “relevant education programs for Black team members with our Black Employee Resource Group called B.U.I.L.D.,” and increasing “marketing spend with Black-owned companies, entrepreneurs, creators and collaborators.”
“Foot Locker, Inc. announced Leading Education & Economic Development (LEED) following the death of George Floyd. The $200 million commitment over five years aims to fight racial inequality and injustice and enhance the lives of the Black Community through investments in education and economic development,” a Foot Locker, Inc. spokesperson explained to Check Your Fact via email. “The commitment is to many communities and organizations, not to one nonprofit or group. It is a strategic shift across our business and investments that span venture capital, scholarship funds, and Black creators and businesses with the goal of driving meaningful change.”
The Star Tribune reported a Foot Locker and some other businesses in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, were destroyed during looting that took place amid protests sparked by the fatal April 11 police shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright. However, that Foot Locker store doesn’t appear in the Facebook post’s photo.
The picture actually shows a Seattle Whole Foods, which can be seen in a Google Maps street view, that was damaged during protests in July 2020. The Seattle-based KOMO News published a photo taken from a slightly different angle of the Whole Foods’ damaged storefront in a July 23, 2020 article.
Local Seattle news station KIRO 7 also reported about the Whole Foods and other nearby Seattle businesses being damaged during looting in July 2020.
A disturbing video posted on Instagram shows two young children being paraded around by a drag queen and told to collect money during a drag show in Miami, Florida.
The video posted by conservative political personality Angela Stanton King shows two pre-teen children being paraded around by a drag queen and being told to collect money from the audience, The Blaze reported.
“Why in the hell do these people got these f*cking little bitty-ass kids at this f*cking drag show, y’all?” Stanton-King asked in the video, expressing her displeasure. “It is 11:40 at night, these people have children in a f*cking drag show.”
“Telling her ‘get her f*cking money,'” Stanton-King continues. “Look at this f*cking bulls*ht. Look at this bulls*ht now. Look! Look! They’re giving them f*cking money now, little girls, now.”
“They’re f*cking throwing money at these little girls,” she adds. “Got them picking up f*cking money off the floor like they f*cking strippers and sh*t, now.”
Stanton-King initially claimed that the location was in Los Angeles but later clarified both in the post’s caption and in another video that it took place at Palace, an LGBTQ nightclub in Miami.
In December 2018, an 11-year-old “drag-kid” called Desmond Napoles performed in a Brooklyn-based gay club called 3 Dollar Bill, while men threw dollar bills at him.
Following Desmond’s performance, the boys’ parents were reportedly investigated by authorities regarding accusations about alleged child abuse, The Daily Wire reported.
“We have been accused of child abuse, exploitation & maltreatment to the point that we have been backed into a corner trying to defend ourselves,” Desmond’s mother explained. “We have been under a microscope since early December. I never thought I would have to breach my own privacy & confidentiality to provide proof that has been demanded of us out of malice.”
Williams, who had just landed in Minnesota, said he could already see the tensions beginning to lift following the verdict. He mentioned the “thin blue line,” saying that many had believed that it would be impossible to convict a police officer because they fully expected the officers to protect their own.
“Honorable police officers, police officers who serve every day, they got on that stand and they told the the truth,” Williams said, adding, “I got to tell you, Greg is off his meds if he believes there was not evidence, that’s what I’m saying —”
“‘Scuse me? Excuse me? What did you say? Excuse me, what did he say? Am I off my meds?” Gutfeld shot back. “You’re lucky you’re not around here.”
“Let me finish. Let me finish,” Williams protested. “If you do not believe that there has not been the evidence in support of these charges I got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you —”
“I didn’t say that,” Gutfeld continued to talk over Williams, repeating in a singsong voice, “That is not what I said.”
“I am not finished. Due process actually works in this case, and when you look at a police officer with his knee on a man’s neck, battering, pushing down on that man’s neck, that man is calling for his mother, calling up for the community, calling out, saying he couldn’t breathe and the police officer didn’t have enough in him to take his —” Williams continued, but The Five” cohost Dana Perino interrupted, cutting away to a statement from Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee sparred with Stacey Abrams Tuesday during a hearing on Democrats’ voting rights bill and election reforms that Republicans have introduced in states across the country.
Most of the hearing centered around Georgia’s new voting law, SB 202, which Abrams said helped spark “a resurgence of the Jim Crow-style voter suppression measures sweeping across state legislatures.”
Other Republicans pressed Abrams on issues ranging from her own stance on voter ID requirements, her 2018 gubernatorial bid and Major League Baseball’s decision to move its All-Star Game from Atlanta to Colorado.
“I believe there are components of it that are racist,” Abrams said, adding that she believed there were “deliberate attempts” to suppress nonwhite voters. “The intent always matters, sir, and that is the point of this conversation.”
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee sparred with Stacey Abrams Tuesday during a hearing on Democrats’ voting rights bill and election reforms that Republicans have introduced in states across the country.
The hearing consisted of testimony from officials on opposite sides of the issue, including Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, Utah Republican Rep. Burgess Owens and Jan Jones, the Republican speaker pro tempore of the Georgia House, but most questions from lawmakers on both sides were directed towards Abrams. Democrats largely focused on GOP-led policies that they likened to those from the Jim Crow era, while Republicans blasted the comparison and said that the bills’ goals were to make it harder to cheat, not to vote.
Most of the hearing centered around Georgia’s new voting law, SB 202, which Abrams said helped spark “a resurgence of the Jim Crow-style voter suppression measures sweeping across state legislatures.” The law was inspired by “insecurity about in the 2020 election” and former President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud, Abrams said. (RELATED: Biden Says Georgia Bill Is ‘Jim Crow In The 21st Century)
Jones, however, pushed back on Abram’s claim, saying that the law made it “easier to vote and harder to cheat” while “ensuring voter accessibility, transparency and integrity.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley with Sen. Dick Durbin before the hearing. (Evelyn Hockstein-Pool/Getty Images)
Other Republicans pressed Abrams on issues ranging from her own stance on voter ID requirements, her 2018 gubernatorial bid and Major League Baseball’s decision to move its All-Star Game from Atlanta to Colorado.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn asked Abrams whether she thought Georgia’s new law was racist, to which she said that she believed certain components were.
“Is the Georgia election law racist?” Cornyn asked.
“I believe there are components of it that are racist,” Abrams said, adding that she believed there were “deliberate attempts” to suppress nonwhite voters in response to Cornyn’s followup question. He also questioned whether she supported voter ID, to which she responded that she did in some forms.
“So voter ID is sometimes racist, sometimes not racist?” Cornyn asked.
“The intent always matters, sir, and that is the point of this conversation,” Ms. Abrams said back. “That is the point of the Jim Crow narrative. That Jim Crow did not simply look at the activities, it looked at the intent.”
“As I’ve always said,” Abrams responded, “I acknowledged at the very beginning that Brian Kemp won under the rules in place. But I object to our rules that permitted thousands of Georgia voters to be denied their participation in this election… so I will continue to disagree with the system until it is fixed.”
“Do you regret your central role in causing Major League Baseball to withdraw the All-Star Game from Georgia?” Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton later asked Abrams.
“I certainly regret the decision that MLB made to remove their game from Cobb County, and the economic effect that it will have on Georgians,” Abrams responded.
Sen. Tom Cotton pressed Abrams on the MLB’s decision to relocate its All-Star Game. (Evelyn Hockstein-Pool/Getty Images)
Abrams also advocated for the For the People Act, Democrats’ voting rights bill which would federalize elections, outlaw partisan gerrymandering, legalize ballot harvesting and adopt expansions to voter registration, absentee voting and more. Republicans, however, unanimously oppose the bill, calling it a Democratic power grab and warning that it will create additional opportunities for fraud.
Bill Gardner, New Hampshire’s secretary of state who was called by Republicans to testify, said that Democrats’ bill could backfire and fail to achieve its stated goals.
“An unjustified federal intrusion into the election processes of the individual states will damage voter confidence, diminish the importance of Election Day, and ultimately result in lower voter turnout,” Gardner, an elected Democrat who was held his post since 1976, testified.
The Senate Rules Committee is expected to take up the For the People Act in May after it passed the House of Representatives in March. It would need 60 votes to pass the Senate, however, and with Republicans unanimously opposed it has little chance of becoming law.
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Shortly before a jury convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd last May, Vice President Kamala Harris said even a guilty verdict would not "heal the pain" of systematic racism in the United States.
Harris spoke to CNN just before the jury announced it had found Chauvin guilty on charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The vice president urged Congress to pass legislation backed by the White House that would overhaul standards for police conduct at the federal level.
"This verdict is but a piece of it and it will not heal the pain that existed for generations, that has existed for generations among people who have experienced and first-hand witnessed what now a broader public is seeing because of smartphones and the ubiquity of our ability to videotape in real time what is happening in front of our faces," Harris told the outlet. "And that’s just the reality of it. That’s why Congress needs to act and that’s why they should pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act."
The House voted largely along party lines to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in March. The bill has yet to be brought up for a vote in the Senate.
The jury found Chauvin guilty on the second day of deliberations in the trial. Chauvin, who is white, was filmed pinning Floyd to the ground with his knee for more than nine minutes until he lost consciousness in front of several bystanders. A sentencing hearing is scheduled in eight weeks.
The jury, consisting of five men and seven women, reached its verdicts after more than 10 hours of deliberations following a three-week trial.
Chauvin was convicted of second- and third-degree murder as well as second-degree manslaughter after holding his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes last Memorial Day in an incident recorded on bystanders’ cellphones. Floyd, a 46-year-old with a heart condition who had drugs in his system and resisted arrest, had been suspected of using a counterfeit bill at a convenience store.
The court has withheld the jurors’ identities facing safety concerns over what was one of the highest-profile police-involved homicide cases in decades. In addition to the 12 deliberating members of the jury, there were three alternates, one of whom was dismissed early in the trial.
Here are some details about the jury unveiled during the selection process:
Half of the jurors are White, four Black and two identify as "multiracial." They were selected from a pool of more than 300 over a two-week period.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is handcuffed to be led away after a jury found him guilty of all charges in his trial in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Pool via REUTERS)
They ranged in age from their 20s to their 60s, and nearly all of them had seen the viral video of Floyd’s death, which showed Chauvin with his knee on the victim’s neck for more than nine minutes. Floyd begged for relief and said he couldn’t breathe. Bystanders pleaded with Chauvin to ease up and check his pulse. And Floyd himself called out for his mother and predicted he was going to die.
His death prompted nationwide protests which stretched on for months, as well as calls to defund police departments and crack down on racial injustice.
And although the jurors had been sequestered Tuesday night after their first partial day of deliberations, Judge Peter Cahill slammed elected officials for potentially influencing the decision-making process after California Rep. Maxine Waters, a Democrat, urged demonstrators to "get more confrontational" if Chauvin were acquitted.
Cahill that he wished elected officials would stop referencing the case "especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law" so as to let the judicial process play out as intended. He added that Waters’ remarks may give the defense a case for appeal.
Here’s some of the available details on the jury:
Juror No. 2 is a White male chemist in his 20s who was the only member of the panel who said he hadn’t seen the video of Floyd’s arrest before the trial began.
Juror No. 9 is a multiracial woman in her 20s and the niece of a police officer in northern Minnesota. She said she was "super excited" to get her jury notice and had a "somewhat negative" view of Chauvin after watching footage of Floyd's arrest.
Juror No. 19 is a Black man in his 30s who works as an auditor, said he supported the Black Lives Matter movement but disagreed with some of the organization’s actions. He said he had a friend in the Minneapolis Police Department, where Chauvin worked at the time of Floyd’s death.
Juror No. 27 is Black male IT worker who immigrated to the U.S. more than 14 years ago.
Juror No. 44 is a nonprofit executive and single White mom in her 50s.
Juror No. 52 is a Black man in his 30s who works as a banker who said he had neutral opinions of both Chauvin and Floyd and a very favorable view of Black Lives Matter.
Juror No. 55 is White woman in her 50s and an executive assistant in the health care industry. She said the video of Floyd’s death disturbed her and that "all lives matter."
Juror No. 79 is a Black father in his 40s who immigrated to the U.S. about 20 years ago and reported having a prior positive experience with police after someone burglarized his home.
Juror No. 85 is a multiracial consultant in her 40s who expressed faith in police before the trial.
Juror No. 89 is a White nurse in her 50s who said she would draw from her knowledge and experience as a nurse to make determinations about medical testimony but would refrain from using that knowledge in the courtroom.
Juror No. 91 is a Black grandmother of two in her 60s who studied child psychology and worked in marketing.
Juror No. 92 is a White woman in her 40s who works in commercial insurance. She said she has experience with someone who struggled with alcohol and expressed concern that someone under the influence of substances might act aggressively. But she added that police should not treat people poorly just because they appear to be on drugs.
George Floyd died May 25 after an encounter with four Minneapolis police officers.
Juror No. 96 is an out-of-work White woman in her 50s was volunteering with the homeless and said she had witnessed police treat minorities worse than White people.
Juror No. 118 is a White social worker in her 20s who said she has discussed police reform with others and thinks "there are things that should be changed" but added that police are important to society, and she is "always looking at every side of things." She and Juror No. 96 were dismissed from their roles as alternates before deliberations began Tuesday afternoon.
Juror No. 131 is an accountant in his 20s who expressed an initial unfavorable view of Chauvin based on the bystander video. He was dismissed before the trial’s opening statements.
The jury contained no White males who are around Chauvin’s age. The fired police officer turned convicted murder is 45. Cahill scheduled his sentencing for eight weeks from Tuesday.
Three other officers involved in Floyd’s death,Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, will go on trial together later this year. They face charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
Fox News’ Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
Cahill said Chauvin would be sentenced in eight weeks, with the specific date and time yet to be determined. But prior to that, attorneys for both sides would confer regarding what the judge referred to as "Blakely factors" and "PSI," or pre-sentence investigation.
Here’s what the two terms mean:
Blakely factors
"Blakely factors" refers to Blakely v. Washington, a U.S. Supreme Court case that was decided in 2004. In part, the case determined that the jury, not the judge, should determine any facts used to impose a sentence that exceeds the established sentencing guidelines for an offense on which a defendant is convicted. The judge would still determine whether the harsher sentence would be imposed.
The 2004 case referred to a Washington state defendant’s assertion of his rights under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which refers to a defendant’s right to a fair trial.
Prosecutors in Chauvin’s case have already indicated they intend to pursue longer sentences for Chauvin than state guidelines suggest, citing two aggravating factors in the Chauvin case: that the crimes on which Chauvin was convicted occurred in the presence of children and that the crimes represented an abuse of governmental authority, the Minnesota Post reported.
Blakely waiver
On Monday, however, Chauvin agreed to a Blakely waiver, meaning the defendant agreed that Cahill, not the jury, could determine the validity of any alleged aggravating factors that would justify a longer sentence than state sentencing guidelines allow, the Post reported.
A pre-sentence investigation (PSI) is typically ordered by a judge to help determine if a defendant convicted of a crime would be a good candidate for probation. The results of the investigation can factor into a judge’s determination on the length of the sentence.
Authorities have said Chauvin could spend decades in prison.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey praised George Floyd following the guilty verdict on Tuesday against former police officer Derek Chauvin for Floyd's murder.
"George Floyd came to Minneapolis to better his life. But ultimately his life will have bettered our city," the Democratic mayor wrote on Twitter. "The jury joined in a shared conviction that has animated Minneapolis for the last 11 months. They refused to look away and affirmed he should still be here today."
Chauvin, 45, was found guilty Tuesday of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Chauvin's sentencing is scheduled for eight weeks from now.
Frey’s remarks of praise didn’t land with everyone - some took issue with the mayor’s characterization of Floyd’s death as a sacrifice for the sake of the city.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered a similar sentiment in her press conference with the Congressional Black Caucus.
"Thank you George Floyd for sacrificing your life for justice," Pelosi said Tuesday outside the Capitol. "Because of you and because of millions of people around the world who came out for justice, your name will always be synonymous with justice. And now we have to make sure justice prevails in the sentencing."
Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died on May 25, 2020 after Chauvin held his knee against Floyd's neck or upper body for nine minutes and 29 seconds, as a handcuffed Floyd repeatedly said that he could not breathe. Police were called to the area on that day for a report that Floyd had used a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes at a neighborhood convenience store, Cup Foods.
An officer-involved shooting in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday afternoon left one young female dead.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the shooting, a spokesperson told Fox News. Police were originally called to the scene on the east side of the city around 3:45 p.m. on a report of an attempted stabbing, FOX 28 reported.
The victim, who Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther described as a "young woman," was pronounced deceased at a local hospital shortly before 5:30 p.m.
WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE
Videos posted by local news reporters and bystanders showed a chaotic scene. The shooting occurred just before a verdict was announced in the shooting death of George Floyd, for which former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder.
Mayor Ginther said that there is body-worn camera footage of the invident that authorities are working to review.
"We will share information that we can as soon as it becomes available," Ginther wrote on Twitter. "I’m asking for residents to remain calm and allow BCI to gather the facts."
A crowd gathers at the scene of a fatal officer-involved shooting in Columbus, Ohio.
(@LaceyCrisp / WBNS)
Protesters were gathering near the location of the shooting and shouting at police as investigators from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations worked the scene.
Another Columbus police officer is facing a murder charge for a fatal shooting. Officer Adam Coy shot Andre Hill on Dec. 22 as Hill was emerging from a garage holding up a cell phone, officials previously said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Julio Urías threw seven dominant innings of one-hit ball, striking out a career-high 11 and leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 1-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.
The matchup between early-season division leaders out West was an entertaining pitchers' duel with Urías getting the better of Seattle's Marco Gonzales. Corey Seager drove in the only run with a two-out single in the third inning after AJ Pollock's leadoff double. Those were the Dodgers' only hits in the game.
Seattle's Chris Taylor was thrown out at home as a potential insurance run in the ninth inning. Taylor went on contact from Justin Turner and was easily thrown out by third baseman Kyle Seager.
Urías (3-0) was outstanding, painting edges with a fastball in the mid-90s that kept Seattle’s hitters guessing. Seattle’s lone hit was Mitch Haniger's slow infield single with two outs in the third inning.
Urías allowed two baserunners and neither reached second base. He had 10 strikeouts through five innings and seven of the nine batters in Seattle’s lineup struck out at least once against him.
It appeared Urías was in line for one more inning at just 88 pitches — 68 for strikes — but manager Dave Roberts went to Victor González in the eighth. Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save to complete the one-hittter.
The Mariners needed a good start from Gonzales (1-2) after burning through their bullpen in recent days. Seattle's ace started the season with two poor outings, but seemed to rediscover a working formula last week against Baltimore.
Gonzales allowed two hits and struck out six. He retired the final 13 batters he faced following Seager’s RBI single in the third inning.
Seattle welcomed back AL rookie of the year Kyle Lewis, who made his season debut after spending the first few weeks on the injured list with a bone bruise in his right knee suffered late in spring training.
Lewis walked in his first plate appearance of the season and was 0-for-3.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: Mookie Betts was out of the lineup after getting hit on the right forearm by a pitch a night earlier, but Roberts doesn’t expect it to be a long-term issue. Roberts said X-rays on Betts’ arm were negative.
Mariners: Ty France, who got hit on the right forearm by a pitch in Monday’s game, struck out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. ... Seattle optioned OF Braden Bishop to its alternate training site to open a roster spot for Lewis.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: Open a four-game series on Thursday against San Diego, with Walker Buehler (1-0, 2.00 ERA) on the mound. Buehler allowed two runs over six innings in a no-decision last week against the Padres.
Mariners: At Boston on Thursday, with Justin Dunn (1-0, 3.72) starting the opener. Dunn allowed one run on two hits over five innings in a win over Baltimore in his last start.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty of all charges in the murder of George Floyd, and Fox News' Judge Jeanine Pirro said the verdict proves violent protest is unnecessary when the courts serve justice on "The Five."
"What people need to understand is that the American justice system works," she said. "That people believe in Lady Justice. That if we give it a chance, it can work. And for all those people that want to burn down streets, just let the courts do its job and it will survive."
Pirro said the verdict was clearly supported by the facts in an "unusual" case with strong video evidence – when most murder trials only ever have an autopsy photo.
"Here, we had a living, breathing person that the jury was able to relate to every day, day after day, watching the trauma of what he went through, begging for air, begging to breathe," she said. "This was an emotional, as well as an intellectual, decision… The facts are solid on this verdict. This verdict will be upheld on appeal."
Crowds did gather outside of the Minneapolis courthouse on Tuesday post-verdict but those present did not intend on becoming violent.
Fox News Political Analyst Juan Williams jumped into the conversation to back Pirro’s assessment that the American justice system is still reliable and agreed that a "clear-cut case" has been delivered.
Williams said any other verdict would’ve been a "kick to the stomach" for the American people.
"I hope it’s the beginning of a big change in the way that we think about handling crime, handling people, not making judgments based on skin colors and treating people as suspects and not as citizens to be protected," he said.
Now that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, many are now turning their attention to the three other officers who are charged with aiding and abetting in Floyd’s death.
Chauvin and the other three former officers – Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane – were fired the day after Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020.
FILE: This combination of photos provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, shows Derek Chauvin, from left, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao.
(Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Floyd died after being arrested on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill for a pack of cigarettes at a corner market in Minneapolis. He panicked, pleaded that he was claustrophobic and struggled with police when they tried to put him in a squad car. They put him on the ground instead.
Thao, Kueng and Lane responded to a call about a "forgery in process" but did not directly cut off Floyd’s breathing.
Derek Chauvin is removed from the courtroom.
The three officers were later charged with aiding and abetting unintentional second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter – charges that carry up to 40 years in prison.
They will stand trial in court together beginning on Aug. 23 in Hennepin County. The men remain free on $750,000 bail.
The centerpiece of the case in Chauvin’s trial was a bystander video of Floyd gasping repeatedly, "I can't breathe" and onlookers yelling at Chauvin to stop as the officer pressed his knee on or close to Floyd's neck for what authorities say was 9 1/2 minutes. Floyd slowly went silent and limp.
In the months that followed, numerous states and cities restricted the use of force by police, revamped disciplinary systems or subjected police departments to closer oversight.
People react after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, found guilty of the death of George Floyd, at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
(Reuters)
Chauvin’s guilty verdict set off jubilation around Minneapolis. People instantly flooded the surrounding streets downtown, running through traffic with banners, and cars blared their horns. Floyd family members gathered at a Minneapolis conference room could be heard cheering and even laughing.
At the intersection where Floyd was pinned down, a crowd chanted, "One down, three to go!" – referring to Thao, Kueng and Lane.
Defense attorneys of all four former Minneapolis police officers had filed motions to move the trial out of Hennepin County, arguing that the jury pool’s perspective had been tainted by the media coverage of the high-profile case.
Washington Nationals right fielder Juan Soto went on the 10-day injured list with a strained left shoulder on Tuesday, the latest setback for the 2019 World Series champions.
Soto, the reigning NL batting champion, originally was listed in Washington's starting lineup facing the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.
But less than an hour before the game's scheduled first pitch, the Nationals tweeted the move. The club also said that outfielder Yadiel Hernandez was being recalled from its alternate training site.
Soto is batting .300 with two homers and eight RBIs this season.
Andrew Stevenson took Soto's spot in right field Tuesday.
The Nationals began the day in last place in the NL East with a 5-9 record, thanks in large part to problems with their starting rotation.
Stephen Strasburg is on the IL with right shoulder inflammation, Jon Lester began the season on the COVID-19 injured list and has yet to make his Nationals debut, and Max Scherzer is 0-1 heading into his scheduled start Wednesday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is facing intense backlash after she thanked George Floyd for "sacrificing your life for justice" Tuesday following the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on murder and manslaughter charges.
Speaking alongside the Congressional Black Caucus shortly after the verdict was handed down, the top House Democrat looked to the sky and said, "Thank you, George Floyd, for sacrificing your life for justice.
"For being there to call out to your mom," Pelosi went on. "How heartbreaking was that? [To] call out for your mom, 'I can't breathe.'
"But because of you and because of thousands, millions of people around the world who came out for justice, your name will always be synonymous with justice," the speaker added.
Pelosi appeared to clarify her remarks on Twitter.
"George Floyd should be alive today. His family’s calls for justice for his murder were heard around the world. He did not die in vain," Pelosi wrote. "We must make sure other families don't suffer the same racism, violence & pain, and we must enact the George Floyd #JusticeInPolicing Act."
President Biden praised a guilty verdict in the murder trial of the former police officer Derek Chauvin, but called it a “too rare” step to deliver “basic accountability” for Black Americans who have been killed during interactions with the police.
MINNEAPOLIS — Around midday last Monday, Samir Patel received a phone call from his friend, a dentist: Gunshots had rung out, his friend told him, and the contractors who were rebuilding the office he lost in last year’s unrest had fled. He was boarding up, and he told Mr. Patel he should move quickly to…
The jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of all three counts he was facing — second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter — for the same crime: pinning George Floyd’s neck to the asphalt with his knee until he stopped breathing.
WASHINGTON — Democrats on Tuesday defeated an effort by Representative Kevin McCarthy, the top House Republican, to censure Representative Maxine Waters for suggesting that racial justice protesters should “get more confrontational” if the Derek Chauvin jury did not return a guilty verdict.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, the lead prosecutor in the state’s case against Derek Chauvin, said during a news conference on Tuesday that “this is not the end,” and that his office expects to present another case this summer.
Last month New York became the 15th state (in addition to Washington, D.C.) to legalize recreational pot use. The bill that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed includes extensive provisions to address issues of racial equity. It not only expunges past convictions for marijuana-related offenses, but it also guarantees that 40 cents of every dollar in tax…
WASHINGTON — President Biden will announce Thursday that the United States intends to cut planet-warming emissions nearly in half by the end of the decade, a target that would require Americans to transform the way they drive, heat their homes and manufacture goods.
Senate Democrats on Tuesday renewed their push for a national expansion of voting rights, summoning leaders from the battleground state of Georgia to help build a public case that Congress should intervene to lower state barriers to voting.
“May it please the court. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, good morning. The video evidence, I think, will be very helpful and meaningful to you because you can see it for yourself without lawyer talk, lawyer spin, lawyer anything. You can see it for yourself.” “Please. Please. I can’t breathe. Please, man. Please somebody…
ROMA, Texas — Shortly after sunset, there are signs of life on an isolated riverbank outside the border town of Roma, Texas. Over on the Mexican shore of the Rio Grande, flickering lights appear through the trees for a moment, then disappear.
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Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all charges in connection with the death of George Floyd.
North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R) called out the Biden administration, suggesting it's time to get them out of office.
In an unusual and shocking move, Joe Biden openly endorsed one side in the highly politicized Derek Chauvin case.
Attorney Lin Wood is ramping up efforts to restore integrity of U.S. elections with his new bid for political office.
As schools struggle to pick up the pieces from Democrat-led lockdown orders, Kamala Harris seems to have different priorities.
A prominent Israel-based author called The New York Times the godfather of fake news.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said his own party has left his state of West Virginia behind.
The House passed bipartisan legislation that would give the cannabis industry access to banking services.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), in an attempt to show solidarity with Black Lives Matter protestors in Brooklyn Center Minneapolis, managed to put herself in quite the difficult situation.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said the Biden administration's infrastructure plan is a farce.
