During testimony, former officer apologizes for killing Daunte Wright
Testifying in front of the jurors who will decide her fate, Kimberly Potter broke down Friday as she watched body-camera video that captured her fatal shooting of a 20-year-old Black man during an encounter that began with a traffic stop over an air freshener. The shooting of Daunte Wright, she said, was the only time she had ever fired her gun in 26 years of policing in Brooklyn Center, a Minneapolis suburb. Potter said she had meant to stun Wright with her Taser, a weapon she said she had also never used in the field. “I’m sorry it happened,” Potter, 49, testified through tears. “I didn’t want to hurt anybody.”
Biden struggles to beat back a resurgent virus once again
The latest surge of the coronavirus is another reminder for President Joe Biden of how hard it is to get ahead of the pandemic. Vaccine effectiveness has waned. A spike in demand for testing is straining the system. And masks remain a political issue. Stubborn resistance to vaccines among millions and the arrival of the fast-spreading new omicron variant have upended plans for a hopeful holiday season. A week before Christmas, Biden offered a warning: “Omicron is here, it’s going to start to spread much more rapidly in the beginning of the year, and the only real protection is to get your shots.”
Jan. 6 committee may add new expertise for investigation
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault at the U.S. Capitol is weighing whether to hire staff members who can analyze social media posts and is examining the role foreign adversaries played in sowing divisions among Americans over the outcome of the presidential election, according to two people briefed on the committee’s decision making. The new avenues of inquiry come as the committee, which has about 40 staff members, continues to subpoena testimony and documents. Witnesses this week included William J. Walker, the former commander of the D.C. National Guard, and conservative activist Dustin Stockton, whose lawyer said he is turning over a “treasure trove” of documents.
Man gets 5 years on Capitol riot charges, longest sentence so far
A Florida man who hurled a fire extinguisher at police officers at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was sentenced Friday to more than five years in prison, the longest term handed down so far to any of the more than 700 people charged in the attack. The defendant, Robert Palmer, made his way to the Capitol that day after listening to President Donald Trump address a huge crowd at the Ellipse, a park just south of the White House. Prosecutors say he threw a wooden planklike spear at police, sprayed a fire extinguisher at officers and then hurled the empty canister at them.
Three jailed in Iran wanted to sue supreme leader over COVID
Two Iranian lawyers and a civil rights activist were among a group organizing a legal challenge to Iran’s top leader and the government over their handling of the pandemic. But before they could even file their complaint, they were seized and incarcerated. Activist Mehdi Mahmoudian was among a group who had planned to file a suit against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the government on charges of mismanaging the pandemic and hampering the vaccine rollout with ban by Khamenei on importing vaccines made in the United States and Britain. If convicted, he and his two co-defendants could each face up to 10 years in prison.
Court allows Biden employer vaccine mandate to take effect
A federal appeals court panel on Friday allowed President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for larger private employers to move ahead. The 2-1 decision by a panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a decision by a federal judge in a separate court that had paused the mandate nationwide. The rule from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration was to take effect Jan. 4. With Friday’s ruling, it’s not clear when the requirement may be put in place.
Pfizer tests extra COVID shot for kids under 5 in setback
Pfizer said Friday it was changing plans and testing three doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in babies and preschoolers after the usual two shots didn’t appear strong enough for some of the children. Pfizer announced the change after a preliminary analysis found 2- to 4-year-olds didn’t have as strong an immune response as expected to the very low-dose shots the company is testing in the youngest children. It’s disappointing news for families anxious to vaccinate their tots. Pfizer had expected data on how well the vaccines were working in children under 5 by year’s end, and it’s not clear how long the change will delay a final answer.
By wire sourcesz
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