During the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin on Thursday, Dr. Martin Tobin, a physician in pulmonary and critical care medicine, said the way George Floyd was handcuffed and put on the street by police officers made it hard to breathe and was almost like having his left lung removed.
The trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with murder in the death of George Floyd, continues in Minneapolis.
Bucking the so-called blue wall of silence, many senior Minneapolis police officers have taken the stand in recent days to decry former Officer Derek Chauvin’s use of force against George Floyd. But the testimony in Chauvin’s trial may not be the clean break from a deeply ingrained police mindset it appears to be.
The political battles over voting laws are at a new fever pitch, with Democrats accusing Republicans of trying to suppress participation by minority voters, and Republicans accusing Democrats of hyperbole and bad-faith objections.
The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday delayed the execution of a convicted killer whose case federal public defenders said slipped through the cracks of the legal system. Death row inmate David Martin, 36, had been scheduled to die May 26. Martin was sentenced to die in 2014 for fatally shooting 21-year-old Jeremy Cole during a robbery in northeastern Ohio two years earlier.
National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre acknowledged in court Wednesday that he did not inform most of the NRA's board before he pushed the gun organization into bankruptcy protection in January. LaPierre also conceded he should have disclosed his several free trips on a 108-foot luxury yacht owned by David McKenzie, a Hollywood producer closely tied to four vendors the NRA paid $100 million in recent years, according to The Wall Street Journal. The NRA is facing off in bankruptcy court against New York Attorney General Letitia James and the gun group's largest creditor, estranged longtime advertising firm Ackerman McQueen. James filed a broad lawsuit against the NRA last summer, seeking its dissolution over alleged self-dealing by LaPierre and other top NRA executives, plus other financial malfeasance. New York and Ackerman McQueen are trying to block the NRA's Chapter 11 filing. The New York attorney general and the NRA both basically seem to agree that the NRA is financially solvent, and that it has filed for bankruptcy — pausing the New York lawsuit and other litigation — to avoid scrutiny from New York authorities. Whether the NRA can cloak itself in bankruptcy protection and reincorporate in Texas from New York, where it chartered as a nonprofit in 1871, will be up to Judge Harlin Hale in Dallas. Hale on Wednesday called this "the most important motion I've ever heard as a judge." LaPierre said in a deposition filed over the weekend that he and his family took refuge in the Bahamas, on McKenzie's yacht and at a resort the producer paid for, several times between 2013 and 2018 due to threats he received after mass shootings in Parlkand, Florida, and Newtown, Connecticut. The yacht, Illusions, "was offered as a security retreat where we could be safe and feel safe," LaPierre said. "This was the one place that I hope could feel safe, where I remember getting there going, 'Thank God I'm safe, nobody can get me here.'" Under questioning, LaPierre said he neither paid to use the yacht nor reported it on financial disclosure forms, as required. He also conceded that his security director did not assess the security of the yacht or do background checks on its cook and other staff. LaPierre also cited security concerns when trying to have Ackerman McQueen buy him a $6 million mansion in a gated Dallas suburb in 2018 and when he treated his house for mosquitoes, The Washington Post reports. More stories from theweek.comAmerica's bipolar summerGeorgia's GOP lieutenant governor says Rudy Giuliani's false voter fraud claims triggered voting restrictionsThe Matt Gaetz allegations show how QAnon corrupts its followers
Derek Chauvin and two fellow Minneapolis police officers had restricted George Floyd's breathing so severely that it was almost “as if a surgeon had gone in and removed” his lung, Dr. Martin Tobin testified Thursday at Chauvin's trial.
Duncan Levin formerly oversaw complex financial crimes for the Manhattan DA, who is now investigating Trump.
Rudy Giuliani's false claims of election fraud weren't enough to overturn the presidential election, but they did motivate Republican lawmakers in Georgia to pass a law that restricts voting rights, the state's Republican lieutenant governor said. Under the new election law, signed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) last month, it's harder for voters to request and drop off absentee ballots; ballot drop boxes are limited; voters can't be approached and handed food or water while they wait in line to cast their ballots; and the secretary of state is no longer chairman or a voting member of the Georgia State Election Board. During an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) said the restrictions are "the fallout from the 10 weeks of misinformation that flew in from former President Donald Trump. I went back over the weekend to really look at where this really started to gain momentum in the legislature, and it was when Rudy Giuliani showed up in a couple of committee rooms and spent hours spreading misinformation and sowing doubt across, you know, hours of testimony." Joe Biden won Georgia, a fact that was affirmed during three different ballot counts in the state. Giuliani still tried to get Georgia to overturn the election results, appearing before state lawmakers to spread multiple falsehoods, including that thousands of dead people voted. He also claimed, without any evidence, that the voting machines were "like Swiss cheese. You can invade them. You can get in them. You can change the vote." He is now the subject of a $1.3 billion defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting Systems. More stories from theweek.comAmerica's bipolar summerThe Matt Gaetz allegations show how QAnon corrupts its followers5 scathingly funny cartoons about MLB vs. the GOP
An undercover Asian officer from the New York Police Department (NYPD) has arrested a woman for hurling anti-Asian remarks at salon employees in Manhattan. The woman, identified as 50-year-old Sharon Williams, was caught harassing Asian employees at a Chinatown nail salon by threatening them and blaming them for the COVID-19 pandemic, according to CBS New York. Undercover NYPD makes first Hate Crime arrest in Chinatown.
According to a police affidavit obtained by KXAN, Luke David Armstrong, 21, sexually assaulted the teen in 2018 when Armstrong was 18 years old.
The defense attorney for the former Minneapolis police officer on trial in the death of George Floyd tried Wednesday to show that Floyd yelled "I ate too many drugs” as three officers pinned him to the ground. Attorney Eric Nelson didn't get the clear confirmation he was seeking, but he may have planted a seed in jurors' minds anyway as he seeks to sow reasonable doubt about the prosecution's case against Derek Chauvin. Part of his strategy for defending Chauvin against murder and manslaughter charges has been to deflect responsibility for Floyd's death last May 25 away from Chauvin — a white officer who prosecutors say knelt on the Black man's neck for 9 1/2 minutes — and onto Floyd himself for using illegal drugs.
Before resting their case in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, prosecutors are planning to show the jury photographs of George Floyd as a younger man and question one of Floyd's brothers, who is expected to recall Floyd's close relationship with his mother. The pictures and reminiscences are not intended to shed any light on the central question before the jury: whether Chauvin, who is white, committed a crime during his deadly arrest of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in handcuffs, when he knelt on Floyd's neck for some nine minutes. Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges.
Prosecutors have accused Ghislaine Maxwell of allowing her prison cell to become "dirty and smelly" by not cleaning it and regularly failing to flush her toilet. In a lengthy letter to a judge they rejected allegations from Ms Maxwell's lawyers that her conditions were "fitting for Hannibal Lecter". They also disputed suggestions the former socialite had lost 15 pounds, and some of her hair. A claim that she had been physically abused during a pat-down search had been investigated and was "unfounded", they added. Audrey Strauss, a New York prosecutor, wrote: "Staff directed the defendant to clean her cell because it had become very dirty. "Among other things, staff noted that the defendant frequently did not flush her toilet after using it, which caused the cell to smell. In addition, the defendant had not cleaned her cell in some time." Ms Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges and denies grooming girls for sex with Jeffrey Epstein.
CBS issued a statement defending "60 Minutes" Wednesday, after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said the program was "dishonest" about the state's partnership with Publix dominating COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Palm Beach County.Driving the news: DeSantis called the show "smear merchants" for reporting Sunday that poorer communities had been left behind, with no Publix Super Markets in Belle Glade, in the Glades area of Palm Beach County. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeHe listed several centers and pop-up sites in the county, citing CVS and Wallgreens as vaccine options.What they're saying: CBS said in a statement first obtained by the Washington Post that Publix was the "only" pharmacy with vaccines in January for seniors in the general population of Palm Beach County.It stressed the show's focus was on the Glades area of the county, with mostly Black and Hispanic residents required to drive for 25 miles if they had a car "or take a long bus ride'" to the nearest Publix. CBS added that COVID vaccines didn't reach the Glades until late February for CVS and mid-March for Walgreens — "well after the Governor began distributing the vaccine with Publix on Jan. 21."CVS and Wallgreen distributed vaccines to nursing homes via federal programs, which is why DeSantis' comments on these companies weren't included in the program, CBS added.For the record: The show raised the ire of DeSantis and other politicians in the state after alleging that the governor announced the Publix partnership weeks after the grocery store group gave $100,000 to his PAC. Both DeSantis and Publix deny any wrongdoing.Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat, tweeted Tuesday that he told "60 Minutes" the Publix story was "bulls--t."Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner (D) accused CBS in a statement Monday of being "intentionally false."Go deeper: DeSantis milks "60 Minutes" spatLike this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
A judge on Wednesday ordered the release of a former Dallas police officer accused of ordering two killings in 2017 after prosecutors said that they don’t have enough evidence to move forward with the capital murder case against him. After listening to testimony by a Dallas homicide detective, Dallas County Criminal Court Judge Audrey Moorehead said there was no probable cause to hold Bryan Riser. The 13-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department was fired after his colleagues arrested him in March on charges in an alleged murder-for-hire scheme.
Piers Morgan stirred up plenty of controversy for repeatedly blasting Meghan Markle. But certain members of the royal family have allegedly been reaching out to say thanks — at least, according to Morgan. Morgan, who departed Good Morning Britain last month after coming under fire for his comments about Oprah Winfrey's interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, claimed during an appearance on Extra that he's received messages on behalf of "several" royals expressing their gratitude for his comments. "I've had some messages communicated to me on behalf of several members of the royal family," Morgan said. "I'm not going to go into who it was, but what I would say is, [they expressed] gratitude that somebody was standing up for them." Buckingham Palace isn't commenting on this claim. Morgan previously declared on Good Morning Britain that he doesn't "believe a word" Meghan Markle says after she and Prince Harry gave a bombshell interview to Winfrey, which he panned as "contemptible" and a "two-hour trash-a-thon." Their allegations included that there were "concerns" in the royal family about "how dark" their baby's skin would be, and Meghan also opened up about experiencing suicidal thoughts. Meghan herself reportedly complained to ITV about Morgan, raising concerns over how his comments might affect those experiencing suicidal thoughts. Since he left Good Morning Britain, though, Morgan has only continued doubling down on his position, telling Extra that "you should be entitled not to believe somebody if you don't want to" while declaring himself "resolutely uncanceled." More stories from theweek.comAmerica's bipolar summerGeorgia's GOP lieutenant governor says Rudy Giuliani's false voter fraud claims triggered voting restrictionsThe Matt Gaetz allegations show how QAnon corrupts its followers
'Tucker Carlson Tonight' explores possibility Gov. Asa Hutchinson was influenced by corporations when vetoing transgender bill
Police in Sri Lanka on Thursday arrested the reigning Mrs. World for pulling the crown off the head of the winner of a Mrs. Sri Lanka beauty pageant and allegedly causing injuries. Caroline Jurie, who won the Mrs. World 2020 competition, was accused of hurting Pushpika De Silva, who won the Mrs. Sri Lanka title at a televised pageant held in Colombo on Sunday.
Several defendants in January's Capitol riot are said to have flipped or to be considering helping prosecutors build cases against far-right groups.
"I didn't say that very artfully yesterday," the Kentucky Republican told reporters. "They're certainly entitled to be involved in politics."
