The Cook County Health department announced it will release approximately 10,000 first-dose COVID-19 vaccination appointments on Friday.

According to a press release, the appointments will be made available to the public at 12 p.m. on Friday.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccine will be offered during these appointments and officials strongly encourage those aged 16 and 17 to sign up for Pfizer sites only.

“Following the expansion of eligibility on April 12, appointments will be available for individuals 16 years or older. The Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine currently approved for 16 and 17 year olds. As such, it is important for these individuals to schedule at a Pfizer site,” the release reads.

Individuals age 16 and 17 must be accompanied to their appointment by a parent or guardian.

County vaccinations will be by appointment only. Appointments can be made at vaccine.cookcountyil.gov or by calling (833) 308-1988 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, or from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays.

On Thursday, Illinois health officials reported 3,581 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases and 40 additional deaths in the last day, along with more than 129,000 vaccinations administered.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Thursday’s new cases brought the state to 1,292,515 since the pandemic began last year. The number of new cases has continued to rise over recent weeks in Illinois, with some officials fearing that a new surge could be taking place.

Thursday’s 40 additional deaths brought the state to 21,609 confirmed COVID fatalities during the pandemic.

View Original Source

In this June 28, 2018 photo, President Donald Trump takes a tour of Foxconn with Foxconn chairman Terry Gou, right, and CEO of SoftBank Masayoshi Son in Mt. Pleasant, Wis. Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, has reached a new deal with reduced tax breaks for its scaled back project in southeast Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers and the company announced on Monday, April 19, 2021. (AP Photo / Evan Vucci, File)

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, has reached a new deal with reduced tax breaks for its scaled back manufacturing facility in southeast Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers and the company announced on Monday.

Details of the new deal were not immediately released. It was scheduled to be approved at a Tuesday meeting of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., the state’s top jobs agency that previously negotiated the initial deal with Foxconn.

The new deal will reduce the potential tax breaks by billions of dollars and still have potential tax breaks worth more than $10 million for the company, a person with knowledge of the new contract who was not authorized to speak publicly about the deal said Monday.

The original deal with nearly $4 billion in state and local tax incentives was struck in 2017 by then-Gov. Scott Walker. It was based on Taiwan-based Foxconn’s promise to build a massive $10 billion flat screen panel manufacturing facility in Mount Pleasant, near the Illinois border, employing up to 13,000 people.

Then-President Donald Trump heralded the original deal as a sign of a revitalized American manufacturing economy, calling the envisioned plant “transformational” and the “eighth wonder of the world.” He traveled to Wisconsin in 2018 for the groundbreaking ceremony.

But Foxconn, best known for making Apple iPhones, has continually scaled back its plans for the site and missed employment targets that would trigger state tax credits.  The company employed 281 people in 2019 in Wisconsin, according to the state economic development agency.

David Callender, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., said the agency does not comment on its discussions with companies “unless and until action has been taken by the board.”

Evers, a Democrat who ran as a critic of the project in 2018 and defeated Walker, a Republican, said in a statement Monday that the new deal “works for everyone.”

“I’ve said all along that my goal as governor would be to find an agreement that works for Wisconsin taxpayers while providing the support Foxconn needs to be successful here in our state,” Evers said.

Jay Lee, Foxconn’s vice chairman, said Foxconn approved the new deal with a desire to lower taxpayer liability in exchange for the flexibility to pursue business opportunities the meet market demand.” He said Foxconn was grateful that a solution could be found.

After the original deal was signed, Foxconn said it was downsizing the factory to be built over 2,500 acres of land from what is known as a Generation 10.5 plant to a Generation 6 plant that makes smaller thin-film transistor liquid crystal display screens for cellphones and other devices, rather than the larger screens that were first proposed.

Foxconn has announced, and then quickly ended, other projects at the site including “a cutting-edge, cloud-based, robotic retail platform” for caffeine sales and ventilators to help the state respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most recently, Foxconn’s chairman said last month it was now considering making electric vehicles at the facility.

The company’s changing plans led Evers to call for its contract, which was based on it building the massive flat-screen panel manufacturing facility, to be rewritten.

Foxconn also made promises about basing its North American headquarters in Milwaukee and hiring 500 employees, but that has not happened. It also promised to open “innovation centers” in Green Bay, Eau Claire, Racine and Madison that would employ up to 200 people each. Buildings were purchased, but the company did not move forward with its plans.

In 2018, Foxconn said it planned to invest $100 million in engineering and innovation research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since then, research center and off-campus location have not been established. Foxconn did sponsor a $700,000 research project at UW-Madison and university officials said in March that talks with Foxconn were ongoing.

View Original Source

In this image from video, defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, and defendant, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin listen to Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill read instructions to the jury before closing arguments, Monday, April 19, 2021, in the trial of Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis. Chauvin is charged in the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd. (Court TV via AP, Pool)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Officer Derek Chauvin “had to know” he was squeezing the life out of George Floyd as the Black man cried out over and over that he couldn’t breathe and finally fell silent, a prosecutor told jurors Monday as closing arguments began at Chauvin’s murder trial.

“Use your common sense. Believe your eyes. What you saw, you saw,” Steve Schleicher said, referring to the excruciating bystander video of Floyd pinned to the pavement with Chauvin’s knee on or close to his neck last May for up to 9 minutes, 29 seconds, as bystanders yelled at the white officer to get off.

Chauvin removed his COVID-19 mask in front of the jury for one of the very few times during the trial as his lawyer, Eric Nelson, launched into the defense closing argument, saying that prosecutors had failed to meet their burden of proving their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Nelson said the standard for judging the officer is not what he should have done or could have done differently, but this: “What were the facts that were known to this officer at the precise moment he used force and, considering all of the totality of circumstances and facts known to the officer … what would a reasonable police officer have done?”

The dueling arguments began with Minneapolis on edge against a repeat of the violence that erupted in the city and around the U.S. last spring over Floyd’s death.

The defense contends the 46-year-old Floyd died of underlying heart disease and his illegal use of fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Replaying portions of the bystander video and other footage as he made his case, Schleicher dismissed some of the defense theories as “nonsense,” saying Chauvin’s pressure on Floyd killed him by constricting his breathing.

He rejected the drug overdose argument, the contention that police were distracted by what they saw as hostile onlookers, the notion that Floyd had “superhuman” strength from a state of agitation known as excited delirium, and the suggestion that Floyd suffered carbon monoxide poisoning from auto exhaust.

The prosecutor sarcastically referred to the idea that it was heart disease that killed Floyd as an “amazing coincidence.”

“Is that common sense or is that nonsense?” Schleicher asked the racially diverse jury.

Schleicher described how Chauvin ignored Floyd’s cries that he couldn’t breathe, and continued to kneel on Floyd after he stopped drawing breath and had no pulse — even after the ambulance arrived.

Floyd was “just a man, lying on the pavement, being pressed upon, desperately crying out. A grown man crying out for his mother. A human being,” Schleicher said. He said Chauvin “heard him, but he just didn’t listen.”

Chauvin was “on top of him for 9 minutes and 29 seconds and he had to know,” Schleicher said. “He had to know.”

The prosecutor said Floyd “was not a threat to anyone.”

“He wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. He wasn’t trying to do anything to anyone. Facing George Floyd that day that did not require one ounce of courage. And none was shown on that day. No courage was required,” Schleicher said. “All that was required was a little compassion, and none was shown on that day.”

Chauvin, wearing a light gray suit with a blue shirt and blue tie, focused on taking notes during the prosecution’s arguments, only occasionally raising his eyes from his notepad. An unidentified woman occupied the single seat set aside in the pandemic-spaced courtroom for a Chauvin supporter.

Floyd’s brother Philonise represented the family in court, as he often has throughout the trial.

Schleicher quickly got to the heart of the case — whether Chauvin’s actions were those of a reasonable officer in similar circumstances — saying a reasonable officer with Chauvin’s training and experience should have known a handcuffed Floyd did not pose a risk to officers.

He said Floyd, who was arrested on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill for a pack of cigarettes at a corner market, was terrified of being put into the tiny backseat of the squad car when he struggled with officers. The prosecutor played video of Floyd being pulled out of the car and forced to the ground — noting that he was on his knees and said thank you.

“A reasonable officer should’ve recognized Floyd wasn’t trying to escape. … The problem was the back of the car. Just like George Floyd tried to explain over and over,” the prosecutor said.

He also noted that Chauvin was required to use his training to provide medical care to Floyd but ignored bystanders, rebuffed help from an off-duty paramedic and rejected a suggestion from another officer to roll Floyd onto his side.

Several witnesses, including one for the defense, said Floyd might have lived if CPR had been administered as soon as he lost a pulse.

“He could have listened to the bystanders. He could have listened to fellow officers. He could have listened to his own training. He knew better. He just didn’t do better,” said Schleicher, adding that even a 9-year-old bystander knew it was dangerous.

“Conscious indifference, indifference. Do you want to know what indifference is and sounds like?” Schleicher asked before playing a video of Chauvin replying, “Uh-huh” several times as Floyd cries out.

The prosecution took about an hour and 45 minutes to make its case, with Schleicher ending his argument by saying: “This wasn’t policing. This was murder.”

The anonymous jury will deliberate in a downtown courthouse surrounded by concrete barriers and razor wire, in a city heavily fortified by National Guard members and just days after a new round unrest over the police killing of a 20-year-old Black man in a nearby suburb. Some businesses boarded up their storefronts with plywood.

Chauvin, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. All three charges require the jury to conclude that Chauvin’s actions were a “substantial causal factor” in Floyd’s death — and that his use of force was unreasonable.

To convict Chauvin of second-degree murder, prosecutors don’t have to prove Chauvin intended to harm Floyd, only that he deliberately applied force, which resulted in harm.

Second-degree intentional murder carries up to 40 years in prison, third-degree murder 25 years, and second-degree manslaughter 10 years. Sentencing guidelines call for far less time, including 12 1/2 years on either murder count.

View Original Source

In this image from NASA, the experimental Mars helicopter Ingenuity casts a shadow as it hovers above the surface of the planet on Monday, April 19, 2021. The little 4-pound helicopter rose from the dusty red surface into the thin Martian air Monday, achieving the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. (NASA via AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s experimental helicopter Ingenuity rose into the thin air above the dusty red surface of Mars on Monday, achieving the first powered flight by an aircraft on another planet.

The triumph was hailed as a Wright brothers moment. The mini 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) copter even carried a bit of wing fabric from the Wright Flyer that made similar history at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903.

It was a brief hop — just 39 seconds and 10 feet (3 meters) — but accomplished all the major milestones.

“Goosebumps. It looks just the way we had tested,” project manager MiMi Aung said as she watched the flight video during a later briefing. “Absolutely beautiful flight. I don’t think I can ever stop watching it over and over again.”

Flight controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California declared success after receiving the data and images via the Perseverance rover. Ingenuity hitched a ride to Mars on Perseverance, clinging to the rover’s belly when it touched down in an ancient river delta in February.

The $85 million helicopter demo was considered high risk, yet high reward. 

Scientists cheered the news from around the world, even from space, and the White House offered its congratulations.

“A whole new way to explore the alien terrain in our solar system is now at our disposal,” Nottingham Trent University astronomer Daniel Brown said from England.

This first test flight — with more to come by Ingenuity, the next as soon as Thursday — holds great promise, Brown noted. Future helicopters could serve as scouts for rovers, and eventually astronauts, in difficult, dangerous places.

Ingenuity has provided a third dimension to planetary exploration and “freed us from the surface now forever,” said JPL director, Michael Watkins.

Ground controllers had to wait more than three excruciating hours before learning whether the preprogrammed flight had succeeded 178 million miles (287 million kilometers) away. The first attempt had been delayed a week because of a software error.

When the news finally came, the operations center filled with applause, cheers and laughter. More followed when the first black and white photo from Ingenuity appeared, showing the helicopter’s shadow as it hovered above the surface of Mars. 

“The shadow of greatness, #MarsHelicopter first flight on another world complete!” NASA astronaut Victor Glover tweeted from the International Space Station.

Next came stunning  color video  of the copter’s clean landing, taken by Perseverance, “the best host little Ingenuity could ever hope for,” Aung said in thanking everyone.

The helicopter hovered for 30 seconds at its intended altitude of 10 feet (3 meters), and spent 39 seconds airborne, more than three times longer than the first successful flight of the Wright Flyer, which lasted a mere 12 seconds on Dec. 17, 1903.

To accomplish all this, the helicopter’s twin, counter-rotating rotor blades needed to spin at 2,500 revolutions per minute — five times faster than on Earth. With an atmosphere just 1% the density of Earth’s, engineers had to build a helicopter light enough — with blades spinning fast enough — to generate this otherworldly lift. The Martian wind was relatively gentle Monday: between 4 mph and 14 mph (7 kph to 22 kph).

More than six years in the making, Ingenuity is just 19 inches (49 centimeters) tall, a spindly four-legged chopper. Its fuselage, containing all the batteries, heaters and sensors, is the size of a tissue box. The carbon-fiber, foam-filled rotors are the biggest pieces: Each pair stretches 4 feet (1.2 meters) tip to tip.

Ingenuity also had to be sturdy enough to withstand the Martian wind, and is topped with a solar panel for recharging the batteries, crucial for surviving the minus-130 degree Fahrenheit (minus-90 degree-Celsius) Martian nights.

NASA chose a flat, relatively rock-free patch for Ingenuity’s airfield. Following Monday’s success, NASA named the area for the Wright brothers.

“While these two iconic moments in aviation history may be separated by time and … million miles of space, they now will forever be linked,” NASA’s science missions chief Thomas Zurbuchen announced.

The little chopper with a giant job attracted attention from the moment it launched with Perseverance last July. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger joined in the fun, rooting for Ingenuity over the weekend. “Get to the chopper!” he shouted in a tweeted video, a line from his 1987 sci-fi film “Predator.” 

Up to five increasingly ambitious flights are planned, and they could lead the way to a fleet of Martian drones in decades to come, providing aerial views, transporting packages and serving as lookouts for human crews. On Earth, the technology could enable helicopters to reach new heights, doing things like more easily navigating the Himalayas.

Ingenuity’s team has until the beginning of May to complete the test flights so that the rover can get on with its main mission: collecting rock samples that could hold evidence of past Martian life, for return to Earth a decade from now.

The team plans to test the helicopter’s limits, possibly even wrecking the craft, leaving it to rest in place forever, having sent its data back home.

Until then, Perseverance will keep tabs on Ingenuity. Flight engineers affectionately call them Percy and Ginny.

“Big sister’s watching,” said Malin Space Science Systems’ Elsa Jensen, the rover’s lead camera operator. 

View Original Source

It wouldn’t be spring in Chicago without a dusting of snow. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Spring is taking a break for the next couple of days.

Temperatures are expected to fall below the freezing mark Tuesday and Wednesday nights, with a light accumulation of snow also in the forecast for Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The wintry mix of snow and rain is likely to hit the Chicago area Tuesday morning and linger throughout the day, meteorologists said.

While largely a nuisance to most folks, the weather poses more of a concern to plants. Overnight temperatures could dip as low as 27 degrees Tuesday, a “hard freeze” that could damage “tender vegetation.”

Though experienced gardeners typically hold off until Mother’s Day to plant warm weather crops, like tomatoes, anyone who jumped the gun might want to consider covering seedlings or bringing containers indoors.

Perennials aren’t likely to suffer any lasting damage but, worst-case, early bloomers could lose their flowers and foliage might even need to be cut back. 

Sub-freezing temperature are likely both Tue & Wed nights across the area, including in the core of the Chicago metro. Prepare now by protecting sensitive vegetation and exposed seasonal water lines such as hoses and fountains. #ilwx #inwx pic.twitter.com/7VpPmsog7d

— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) April 19, 2021

Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 |  [email protected]

View Original Source

An animal care inspector assigned to work at the city’s shelter resigned after an investigation determined they harassed a co-worker by telling their co-worker’s spouse that they were having an affair with another animal shelter employee, according to an audit released Friday by Inspector General Joseph Ferguson.

The animal care inspector arranged to have an anonymous letter mailed to the co-worker’s spouse at their home that made allegations of infidelity, according to the inspector general’s quarterly report covering the first three months of 2021.

In addition, the animal care inspector sent an anonymous email alleging the affair as well as “a LinkedIn request associated with an escort service, to the spouse’s work email address,” according to the audit.

“The [animal care inspector] was in a position of trust that requires credibility and sound judgment in all facets of their duties, including writing reports and testifying at administrative hearings,” according to the audit. “By engaging in threatening conduct and going to great lengths to conceal their involvement in such conduct, the [animal care inspector] demonstrated they were unfit to continue in their city employment.”

The inspector general urged Chicago Animal Care and Control officials to fire the animal care inspector, who resigned before officials could take action against him.

The finding by the inspector general is the second time in recent months that Ferguson has detailed misconduct within Chicago Animal Care and Control.

In January, Ferguson announced that an investigation determined an animal care officer sexually assaulted two co-workers while off-duty and outside of the office.

In addition, city officials disciplined an animal care supervisor for failing to report the employees’ allegations to their superiors and referred to another employee who criticized their handling of the allegations as a b—-,” according to an audit.

None of the employees were identified, in keeping with rules governing the inspector general’s report.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has nominated Mamadou Diakhate to lead Chicago Animal Care and Control. He has been running the department on an interim basis since the departure of former Commissioner Kelley Gandurski, who earned $135,624 annually.

The City Council has yet to consider his nomination.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

View Original Source

In this file photo taken from video, the engine of United Airlines Flight 328 is on fire after experiencing “a right-engine failure” shortly after takeoff from Denver International Airport, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Denver, Colo. Two passengers who were on board the United Airlines airplane that had to make an emergency landing are suing the company in separate suits filed Friday, April 16 in Chicago, where United is based. (Chad Schnell via AP, File)

DENVER (AP) — Two passengers who were aboard a United Airlines flight that had to make an emergency landing after one of its engines blew apart and sent debris raining down on Colorado neighborhoods sued the company Friday.

In separate lawsuits filed in Chicago, where United is based, Joseph McGinley of Honolulu and Jonathan Strawn of Sioux City, Iowa, say they have suffered personal, emotional and financial injuries following the failure of the Boeing 777’s engine on Feb. 20.

United declined to comment on the lawsuits, spokesperson Leslie Scott said.

Video posted on Twitter showed the engine in flames after the plane took off from Denver. Passengers, who were headed to Honolulu, said they feared the plane would crash after an explosion and flash of light, while people on the ground saw huge chunks of the aircraft drop, just missing one home and crushing a truck.

No injuries were reported on the plane or on the ground.

“Imagine as a passenger looking out the window of a plane and helplessly watching the engine on fire. The terror you experience lasts a lifetime,” Chicago attorney Robert A. Clifford said in an announcement of the lawsuits.

His firm also is representing families of 72 of the passengers who died when a Boeing 737 MAX crashed in Ethiopia in 2019.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the United plane’s engine failure but has said that microscopic examination supports early suspicions that wear and tear caused a fan blade to snap inside the engine.

Each lawsuit says the passengers seek a judgment above a $50,000 limit along with other costs and damages.

View Original Source

Video: Legal analysis of the verdict on “Chicago Tonight” with two attorneys who have handed police cases: Dan Herbert, who represented former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke; and James Montgomery, an attorney with James D. Montgomery & Associates. (Produced by Blair Paddock)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted Tuesday of murder and manslaughter for pinning George Floyd to the pavement with his knee on the Black man’s neck in a case that touched off worldwide protests, violence and a furious reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S.

Chauvin, 45, could be sent to prison for decades.

The verdict set off jubilation around the city. People instantly flooded the surrounding streets downtown, running through traffic with banners. Cars blared their horns. Floyd family members who had gathered at a Minneapolis conference room could be heard cheering and even laughing.

“America, let’s pause for a moment to proclaim this historical moment, not just for the legacy of George Floyd but for the legacy of America,” Floyd family attorney Ben Crump said at a joyous news conference that included Floyd’s young daughter. “This is a victory for those who champion humanity over inhumanity. Those who champion justice over injustice.”

People cheer after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo / Morry Gash)

The jury of six white people and six Black or multiracial people came back with its verdict after about 10 hours of deliberations over two days. The now-fire white officer was found guilty on all charges: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. 

His face was obscured by a COVID-19 mask, and little reaction could be seen beyond his eyes darting around the courtroom. His bail was immediately revoked and he was led away with his hands cuffed behind his back. Sentencing will be in two months; the most serious charge carries up to 40 years in prison. 

Defense attorney Eric Nelson followed Chauvin out of the courtroom without comment.

As the judge asked jurors if they reached a verdict, a hush fell on the crowd 300 strong in a park adjacent to the courthouse, with people listening to the proceedings on their cellphones. When the final guilty verdict was announced, the crowd roared, many people hugging, some shedding tears.

At the intersection where Floyd was pinned down, a crowd chanted, “One down, three to go!” — a reference to the three other fired Minneapolis police officers facing trial in August on charges of aiding and abetting murder in Floyd’s death.

Janay Henry, who lives nearby, said she felt grateful and relieved. 

“I feel grounded. I can feel my feet on the concrete,” she said, adding that she was looking forward to the “next case with joy and optimism and strength.”

An ecstatic Whitney Lewis leaned halfway out a car window in a growing traffic jam of revelers waving a Black Lives Matter flag. “Justice was served,” the 32-year-old from Minneapolis said. “It means George Floyd can now rest.”

Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell, who pounded away at Chauvin’s witnesses during the trial, said the verdict sends a message to Floyd’s family “that he was somebody, that his life matters.”

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison commended the bystanders at Floyd’s slow-motion death who “raised their voices because they knew that what they were seeing was wrong,” and then “told the whole world” what they saw.

New signs are on a fence at the Hennepin County Government Center, Monday, April 19, 2021, in Minneapolis where closing arguments are being heard in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin continues. (AP Photo / Jim Mone)

Ellison read off the names of others killed in encounters with police and said: “This has to end. We need true justice. That’s not one case. That’s social transformation that says no one is beneath the law and no one is above it.”

The verdict was read in a courthouse ringed with concrete barriers and razor wire and patrolled by National Guard troops, in a city on edge against another round of unrest — not just because of the Chauvin case but because of the deadly police shooting of a young Black man, Daunte Wright, in a Minneapolis suburb April 11.

The jurors’ identities were kept secret and will not be released until the judge decides it is safe to do so. 

It is unusual for police officers to be prosecuted for killing someone on the job. Convictions are extraordinarily rare. Out of the thousands of deadly police shootings in the U.S. since 2005, fewer than 140 officers have been charged with murder or manslaughter, according to data maintained by Phil Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University. Before Tuesday, only seven were convicted of murder.

Floyd, 46, died May 25 after being arrested on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill for a pack of cigarettes at a corner market. 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.

The centerpiece of the case was the excruciating 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.

Prosecutors played the footage at the earliest opportunity, during opening statements, and told the jury: “Believe your eyes.” And it was shown over and over, analyzed one frame at a time by witnesses on both sides.

In the wake of Floyd’s death, demonstrations and scattered violence broke out in Minneapolis, around the country and beyond. The furor also led to the removal of Confederate statues and other offensive symbols such as Aunt Jemima.

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.

London Williams, 31, of Harrisburg, Pa., bursts into tears on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Washington, after hearing that former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)

The “Blue Wall of Silence” that often protects police accused of wrongdoing crumbled after Floyd’s death: The Minneapolis police chief quickly called it “murder” and fired all four officers, and the city reached a staggering $27 million settlement with Floyd’s family as jury selection was underway.

Police-procedure experts and law enforcement veterans inside and outside the Minneapolis department, including the chief, testified for the prosecution that Chauvin used excessive force and went against his training.

Medical experts for the prosecution said Floyd died of asphyxia, or lack of oxygen, because his breathing was constricted by the way he was held down on his stomach, his hands cuffed behind him, a knee on his neck and his face jammed against the ground.

Chauvin’s attorney called a police use-of-force expert and a forensic pathologist to help make the case that Chauvin acted reasonably against a struggling suspect and that Floyd died because of an underlying heart condition and his illegal drug use.

Floyd had high blood pressure, an enlarged heart and narrowed arteries, and fentanyl and methamphetamine were found in his system.

Under the law, police have certain leeway to use force and are judged according to whether their actions were “reasonable” under the circumstances.

The defense also tried to make the case that Chauvin and the other officers were hindered in their duties by what they perceived as a growing, hostile crowd.

Chauvin did not testify, and all that the jury or the public ever heard by way of an explanation from him came from a police body-camera video after an ambulance had taken the 6-foot-4, 223-pound Floyd away. Chauvin told a bystander: “We gotta control this guy ‘cause he’s a sizable guy … and it looks like he’s probably on something.”

The prosecution’s case also included tearful testimony from onlookers who said the police kept them back when they protested what was happening. Eighteen-year-old Darnella Frazier, who shot the crucial video, said Chauvin just gave the bystanders a “cold” and “heartless” stare.

She and others said they felt a sense of helplessness and lingering guilt from witnessing Floyd’s death.

“It’s been nights I stayed up, apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more, and not physically interacting and not saving his life,” she said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

View Original Source

President Joe Biden meets with members of congress to discuss his jobs plan in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, April 19, 2021. (AP Photo / Andrew Harnik)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is privately weighing how to handle the upcoming verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, including considering whether President Joe Biden should address the nation and dispatching specially trained community facilitators from the Justice Department, aides and officials told The Associated Press. 

Closing arguments began Monday in Chauvin’s trial with a prosecutor telling jurors that the officer “had to know” he was squeezing the life out of George Floyd as he cried over and over that he couldn’t breathe and finally fell silent. Chauvin faces murder and manslaughter charges. 

READ: Murder Case Against Ex-Cop in Floyd’s Death Goes to the Jury

The plans for possible presidential remarks are still fluid, with the timing, venue and nature of the remarks still being considered, in part depending on the timing of the verdict, according to two White House aides who were not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. 

The White House has been warily watching the trial proceed in Minneapolis — and then another shooting of a Black man by a white police officer last week — and are preparing for the possibility of unrest if a guilty verdict is not reached in the trial. Biden may also speak after a guilty verdict, the White House aides said.

The verdict — and the aftermath — will be a test for Biden, who has pledged to help combat racism in policing, helping  African Americans who supported him in large numbers last year in the wake of protests that swept the nation after Floyd’s death and restarted a national conversation about race. But he also has long projected himself as an ally of police, who are struggling with criticism about long-used tactics and training methods and difficulties in recruitment.

Press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that the White House has had a “range of conversations” about preparations for the upcoming verdict and added, “Our objective is to ensure there is space for peaceful protest.”

“Of course we’ll let the jury deliberate and we’ll wait for the verdict to come out before we say more about our engagements,” Psaki said.

Psaki said administration officials have been in contact with leaders in Minnesota and in other cities and states that saw unrest after Floyd’s death last year.

She declined to answer if Biden would be “disappointed” if a not guilty verdict was reached.

Meanwhile, the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota have been working with local officials to support law enforcement as they prepare for the possibility of unrest after the verdict, officials said. 

And the Justice Department has also dispatched specially trained community facilitators from the its civil rights division ahead of a verdict, according to a senior Justice Department official. The official could not discuss the plans publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. 

The officials, part of the Justice Department’s Community Relations Service, tout themselves as “America’s Peacemaker” by mediating disputes in communities and holding listening sessions to help prevent future conflicts. 

A federal civil rights investigation, separate from the trial, remains ongoing. Several witnesses were subpoenaed earlier this year to appear before a federal grand jury considering charges against Chauvin.

The Justice Department’s civil rights investigation has been focused on Chauvin and some of the witnesses, including other officers who worked with Chauvin, people familiar with the matter have told the AP.

Chauvin was prepared to plead guilty to third-degree murder in George Floyd’s death before then-Attorney General William Barr personally blocked the plea deal last year. Barr rejected the deal in part because he felt it was too soon, as the investigation into Floyd’s death was still in its relative infancy, law enforcement officials said.

Across the country, police departments are also preparing for the possibility of rioting or other unrest, with some canceling vacation time and increasing the number of officers available for shifts. The federal government hasn’t detailed its plan in the event of widespread or sustained civil unrest. 

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday that there has been a request from officials in Washington, D.C., for D.C. National Guard forces in the event there is civil unrest in the nation’s capital, and it is currently being reviewed by the Army. He said the Army secretary has the authority to approve any request for D.C. National Guard but did not have details on the request.

View Original Source

A file photo shows a crime scene blocked off by the Chicago Police Department. (WTTW News)

An employee at a Northwest Side auto body shop is accused of nearly decapitating one of his co-workers with a machete and attempting to conceal the body inside the trunk of his car earlier this week.

Martin Molina, 21, was held without bail Friday on a charge of first-degree murder in the “extremely vicious” killing of 42-year-old Felipe Villalobos-Calderon, who died after being struck multiple times in the head and neck with a machete.

During a hearing Friday, Cook County prosecutors said the homicide occurred Wednesday morning at a body shop on the 5800 block of West Grand Avenue in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood.

According to Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Deboni, Villalobos-Calderon was an employee at that shop and had showed up that morning at 9:30 a.m. to do some work on his own personal vehicle. Molina, who also works at the shop with his father, arrived there about an hour later and can be heard talking with Villalobos-Calderon on surveillance footage taken from a camera in a separate part of the shop.

The two cannot be seen on any video, Deboni said, but Villalobos-Calderon can apparently be heard speaking in Spanish, saying something to the effect of “Ow, what, stop messing around a**hole” and pleading with Molina to calm down.

Villalobos-Calderon said “I’ll leave, I’ll leave” before his voice abruptly stopped and multiple “thumping” noises were heard on the video, according to Deboni. The Cook County Medical Examiner found Villalobos-Calderon died of “multiple sharp force injuries” as he had multiple lacerations to his face and a “gaping” wound to his neck.

Molina allegedly attempted to clean the murder scene using a power washer. Another employee arrived at the shop minutes later and found Molina “covered in blood” on his clothing and hands, and jokingly asked if Molina had “killed someone,” Deboni said.

Molina said he had been in a fight, and the other employee left to call 911. Molina allegedly told another employee that he had injured himself, but he refused to accept any medical attention.

At some point Molina allegedly loaded Villalobos-Calderon’s body into the trunk of his car and left the body shop, but his father convinced him to come back and meet at a nearby tow yard.

When they got there, Molina’s father asked his son in Spanish “Where’s Felipe?” and Molina allegedly responded by gesturing toward the trunk of his car. Chicago police officers eventually arrived on scene and found a shovel alongside Villalobos-Calderon’s body in the trunk.

After he was arrested, Molina did not admit to the killing, but he did tell investigators that it was Villalobos-Calderon’s blood on his clothing, Deboni said.

The public defender representing Molina during Friday’s hearing said her client has suffered from “mental breakdowns” in the past that have required hospitalization. She suggested it was possible that Molina and Villalobos-Calderon had gotten into a fight, and this triggered yet another break.

However, Deboni noted that Molina did not have any defensive wounds on his body.

During Friday’s hearing, Cook County Judge Susana Ortiz acknowledged Molina’s mental health history, but still denied bail, saying the killing appeared “random” and was “extremely violent, extremely vicious.”

Molina is due back in court May 6.

Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431

View Original Source