Officers who Tasered man over 50 times convicted of murder
Two former Oklahoma police officers were convicted Friday of second-degree murder for using their Tasers a total of more than 50 times on an unarmed man who later died in 2019. Prosecutors said the repeated use of the Tasers, also known as stun guns, by former officers Brandon Dingman and Joshua Taylor was “dangerous and unnecessary” during their encounter with Jared Lakey on July 4, 2019. It was a “substantial factor” in the death of Lakey, 28, who stopped breathing and became unresponsive shortly after he was taken into custody by the officers.
Man shot by Kyle Rittenhouse describes the encounter
Gaige Grosskreutz, the only person who survived being shot by Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020, took the witness stand Monday and described the instant he faced Rittenhouse, who had just fired several shots with a semi-automatic rifle. “What was going through your mind at this particular moment?” prosecutor Thomas Binger asked. “That I was going to die,” said Grosskreutz, a volunteer paramedic. Grosskreutz, 28, calmly delivered testimony for several hours as a star witness for the state. But his testimony at times lent support to Rittenhouse’s central claim, that he was acting in self-defense.
Jan. 6 panel subpoenas 6 more Trump associates in probe
Further expanding its probe, the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has issued subpoenas to six additional associates of former President Donald Trump who were closely involved in his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. The committee’s chairman, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, said Monday the committee had issued new subpoenas to Bill Stepien, manager of Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign; Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the campaign; Angela McCallum, national executive assistant to the campaign; John Eastman, a lawyer who advised the former president; Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser to Trump who talked with Trump ahead of the insurrection; and Bernard Kerik, who the committee says paid for hotel rooms that served as command centers ahead of Jan. 6.
Four station astronauts catch ride with SpaceX back home
Four astronauts returned to Earth on Monday, riding home with SpaceX to end a 200-day space station mission that began last spring. Their capsule streaked through the late night sky like a dazzling meteor before parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. Recovery boats quickly moved in with spotlights. Their homecoming — coming just eight hours after leaving the International Space Station — paved the way for SpaceX’s launch of their four replacements as early as Wednesday night.
By wire sources
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