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(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 807,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 61.5% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Dec 21, 8:19 am
Fauci on omicron’s ‘unprecedented’ spread

Dr, Anthony Fauci on Tuesday called omiron’s spread “unprecedented.”

“It is really extremely unusual,” he told Good Morning America. “It’s a doubling time of two to three days, closer to two days. Which means that if you start off with a few percentage of the isolates being omicron, and you do the math and double that every couple of days, it’s not surprising that just a week or two ago we had only 8% to 10%, and now we have 73% of all the isolates are omicron. That’s truly unprecedented in the rapidity with which a virus spreads.”

Fauci predicted omicron’s peak will be soon.

“It’s going to be a matter of a couple of weeks that we then start to see just as dramatic a decline,” he said. “That’s what we’re hoping for.”

“When you have something that goes up this quickly, often you see it come right back down. Because what will happen is that either almost everyone is either going to get infected, particularly the unvaccinated, or be vaccinated,” he said. “And the vaccinated people will either be — particularly the boosted people, and it’s very important to underscore right now the importance of getting boosted — that those people will either be protected from infection, or if they do get infected, they’ll have a relatively mild course of infection.”

World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday recommended delaying or canceling holiday events, saying, “an event canceled is better than a life canceled.”

Fauci told GMA that family gatherings are safe if you know everyone is vaccinated.

“When you have a family setting, for example, parents, grandparents, children, who are vaccinated, you should have an enjoyable Christmas and holiday gathering, dinner, whatever in your own home,” Fauci said. “What you want to stay away from is indoor congregant sittings in which you do not know the vaccination status of the people around you. That would be quite risky.”

Dec 21, 3:05 am
Broadway’s ‘Harry Potter’ cancels Christmas week performances  

The Broadway shows “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and “Hadestown” canceled their Christmas week performances, citing rising breakthrough COVID-19 cases.

“We will enchant you another time and apologize for the inconvenience,” said a notice posted on the “Harry Potter” Twitter account late on Monday night.

The two shows added to a growing list of those cancelling performances amid the spread of the omicron variant. “Hamilton” and “Aladdin” both announced they’d stay dark until after Christmas.

Another Broadway musical, “Jagged Little Pill,” based on Alanis Morissette’s catalog, said on Monday it would close its doors for good.

The producers of “Pill” said in a Twitter post that the spread of the omicron variant “appears to be another substantial public health crisis.” Members of the production’s company tested positive for COVID-19, the post said.

Dec 20, 7:43 pm
Biden tests negative after close contact with positive staff member

President Joe Biden was exposed to a staff member who recently tested positive for COVID-19, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Monday evening.

Biden was near the staff member for about 30 minutes on Air Force One on Friday, during a trip to Philadelphia from South Carolina, according to Psaki.

The staff member, who is fully vaccinated and boosted, tested negative Friday morning, but tested positive Monday, according to the White House.

The president received an antigen test Sunday and a PCR test Monday, and both came back negative, Psaki said in a statement. He will receive another test Wednesday, she said.

“As CDC guidance does not require fully vaccinated people to quarantine after an exposure, the president will continue with his daily schedule,” Psaki said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky

Dec 20, 6:51 pm
U.S. records what’s believed to be 1st known omicron related death

Health officials in Texas announced Monday that it recorded the first death related to the omicron COVID-19 variant.

This is believed to be the first known recorded omicron death in the U.S.

Harris County Health officials would only say the victim was “a man in his 50s,” who was unvaccinated and had underlying health conditions..

Public health officials do not think omicron is more virulent than previous variants, but they do say in general vaccination and a booster shot when eligible appears to lower your risk for severe illness.

Dec 20, 6:39 pm
More military teams to be deployed to hospitals

The military announced it is sending two teams to hospitals in Wisconsin and Indiana to assist with rising COVID-19 cases.

The 20-person teams include nurses, respiratory therapists, and medical doctors from the U.S. Navy.

They will be assisting Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis starting on Christmas Day and Bellin Hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin starting on New Year’s Eve, according to a U.S. Army North spokesperson.

Ten other military teams have been deployed to hospitals in five other states.

-ABC News’ Matt Seyler

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(MINNEAPOLIS) — Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty to killing George Floyd in 2020 — when he dug his knee into the back of the Black man’s neck even though he was aware Floyd had lost consciousness and pulse. But in exchange for his plea, Chauvin, 45, made one request: that he be allowed to do his time in federal prison, even if it means he will serve a longer sentence.

Under the agreement Chauvin signed in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Wednesday, he must serve a minimum of 20 years in prison, and a maximum of 25.

While he was sentenced by Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill to serve 22-and-a-half years in state prison, Chauvin could have been paroled in less than 15 years, assuming he accumulated all good-time credit, according to the federal agreement.

“The Floyd family understands Derek Chauvin may serve more time in federal prison than he would in state prison because federal guidelines indicate a greater percentage of a sentence is required to be served than at the state level. It is important to the family that he serves as much of his sentence as possible,” the Floyd family’s attorneys, Ben Crump, Antonio Romanucci and Jeff Storms, said in a statement to ABC News.

Chauvin — who a jury convicted in state court of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter — is to be sentenced in the federal case at a later date.

During his state sentencing hearing in June, Chauvin seemed to allude to his decision to plead guilty in the federal case. Turning to members of the Floyd family seated in the courtroom, he said, “There’s going to be some other information in the future that would be of interest and I hope some things will give you some peace of mind.”

Difference between federal and state prison

When asked if there is a big difference between federal and state prisons, experts agreed that federal prisons are better.

“The general reason is federal prison just tends to be safer and nicer than state prison and local jails,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told ABC News. “There are many reasons for that. They’re just managed better by the Bureau of Prisons, where state and local jails just are not.”

Rahmani, president and co-founder of Los Angeles-based West Coast Trial Lawyers, added, “There is overcrowding issues in state prisons and local jails that you just don’t have in federal prison.”

The annual cost of housing an inmate in a Minnesota state prison is about the same as the federal government spends on its prisoners.

According to a 2015 study by the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit research and policy organization, the average annual cost of housing an inmate in Minnesota state prison is roughly $41,000.

The federal Bueau of Prisons estimated that the annual cost of housing an inmate in a federal facility in 2020 was a little over $39,000.

Upon receiving his state sentence, Chauvin was immediately placed in the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Oak Park Heights, a maximum-security prison. A spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Corrections confirmed to ABC News that Chauvin is being held in the administrative segregation wing of the prison, isolated in a cell 23 hours a day.

Inmates housed in administrative segregation are usually there for disciplinary reasons or “when continued presence in general population could pose a particular safety concern,” according to the state corrections’ website.

Safety appears to be Chauvin’s top concern

Rahmani, who was not involved in the Chauvin case, said one likely reason why the former veteran police officer would prefer to serve his sentence in federal prison is for his own safety.

“He’s been a police officer for quite some time and he’s arrested a lot of folks and probably put them in Minnesota state prison,” Rahmani said of Chauvin, who was a member of the Minneapolis Police Department for 19 years. “It’s much less likely that he’s going to run into people that he’s had interactions with federal prison. So, it’s going to be a lot safer for him.”

Justin Paperny is a former stockbroker who served time in federal prison for securities fraud and founded the consulting company White Collar Advice, which counsels white-collar criminals on what to expect in prison.

Paperney told ABC News that while Chauvin will be allowed to make a recommendation on which federal prison he would like to go to, the ultimate decision will be up to the federal Bureau of Prisons.

“There has been criticism that asking for a certain federal prison was a privilege,” said Paperney, who counseled several parents facing federal prison sentences after being convicted in the “Varsity Blues” college-entrance cheating scandal. “In reality, every federal defendant, whether you’re rich or poor, should ask the judge for a recommendation for a prison. It doesn’t mean you’re going to get it.”

‘He’d be wise to lay low’

Paperney and Rahmani said the federal Bureau of Prisons can send Chauvin to any of its 122 federal prisons throughout the United States that house more than 151,000 inmates.

“In federal prison, Chauvin will still likely be isolated,” Rahmani said. “Isolated would probably be the safest for him, or could be housed with folks who are white-collar criminals assignments, who are no risk to violence towards him. Anytime you have a police officer in prison that’s going to be a very risky situation for that individual. They’ve got to basically put him somewhere safe.”

Paperney said anyone headed to federal prison should conduct their own research on what to expect from the various facilities and the different levels of security.

Such prison research was explored in a recent episode of the hit HBO drama series “Succession.” The character Tom Wambsgans, son-in-law to ruthless media tycoon Logan Roy, gets hold of a binder of prison data to thumb through in anticipation of being sent to a federal pen as a sacrificial lamb in an FBI probe of the family business.

While it’s not a binder, per se, Paperney said he actually wrote the book “Lessons From Prison,” which includes strategies and case studies on how people can prepare themselves for life behind bars, learn to make amends and make their prison experience productive.

“Generally speaking, the federal government is going to have a lot more resources than a lot of states who are cash strapped and broke,” Paperney said. “Given the length of his [Chauvin’s] sentence, and no possibility of release any time soon, it makes more sense to be in a federal prison with more security and better access to resources and programming, everything from better food to better housing, to better bunks.”

Paperney said that if he had to chance to consult Chauvin, he’d give him the advice he gives most of his clients.

“Any new prisoner must recognize they’re moving into an environment where people have lived for weeks, months, years. It is a microcosm of society,” Paperney said. “So, he’d be wise to lay low, to listen, to watch, to not assert his authority, not try to impress or influence or offer unsolicited advice. He needs to stay quiet and adjust because the eyes will be on him.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Ahead of Christmas, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released an interactive map that shows the average percent chance of seeing snow in towns across the country.

NOAA defines the meaning of a “white Christmas” if there is at least 1 inch of snow on the ground by 7 a.m. Christmas morning.

According to data collected by the NOAA over the course of 30 years, most large U.S. cities, from Boston to Chicago to Seattle, don’t typically have much of a chance of seeing a white Christmas on average.

Minneapolis-Saint Paul is the only large metropolitan area that has a likely chance this year, at 74%.

In the Northeast, Washington, D.C., normally has a 5% chance and New York City typically has a 13% chance of seeing a white Christmas on average.

Those out West have a bit more luck.

Aspen, Colorado, has almost a 100% chance of seeing a white Christmas and Breckenridge, Colorado, is not far behind with a 98% chance on average.

With the mild start to the winter season this year, the national snowfall average is behind across most of the U.S.

As of now, not much snow is expected east of the Rockies, where it is forecast to get warmer for most heading towards Christmas this year.

New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Detroit and Denver are not expected to see a white Christmas this year.

However, most of the Rocky Mountains and all of the West Coast at higher elevations will see snow on the ground.

Similarly, in the Northeast, snow will be on the ground at higher elevations, especially from upstate New York to Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

The forecast this year calls for a white Christmas in most of North Dakota, the northern half of Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and most northern parts of Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A Milwaukee County judge on Monday ordered Darrell Brooks Jr., the man charged in the Waukesha, Wisconsin, Christmas parade attack that left six people dead, to make an in-person appearance in February 2022 for an unrelated case.

Brooks, 39, is accused of trying to run over the mother of his child in Milwaukee on Nov. 2. He was on a $1,000 bail for this case when he allegedly drove his SUV into a Christmas parade in Waukesha on Nov. 21.

He is currently being held in Waukesha County Jail and has been charged with six counts of intentional homicide in the crash that injured more than 60 people.

Over a Zoom status hearing, Judge Michelle Havas also increased his bail to $200,000 to secure his next court appearance for this case. Brooks had to dial into the hearing since the jail didn’t have Zoom capabilities.

Matthew Torbenson, who appeared on behalf of the state, asked for an increase in cash bail to $200,000 for this case due to the “extraordinary” and “very serious nature” of alleged bail violations by Brooks.

On Nov. 11, Brooks was issued a no-contact order with the witnesses in the case who goes by the initial EAP and DW. Torbenson, in the Zoom hearing, announced that while in custody, Brooks had made 49 calls to the victim, out of which 25 made it through.

The defense, consisting of Attorneys Robert Hampton and William Rakestraw, argued against an increase in the bail because their client was already facing a $5 million bail charge in the Waukesha case, which would secure his appearance in court. The judge quashed this argument, saying that she has a “huge reason” to think Brooks won’t show up in court if his release is secured in another county such as Waukesha. She gave the hypothetical examples of someone stepping up to be his benefactor and paying off his $5 million bail as a possibility leading to such an outcome.

Toward the end of the hearing, Havas told Brooks that the no-contact order with the victim in the earlier case is still in place and that she would see him in court on Feb. 2, 2022, for his next appearance.

 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A local benefit on Sunday raised around $24,000 to support Erick Tiegs, a survivor of the Christmas parade attack on Nov. 21 in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Tiegs, 16, was playing trombone in his high school’s marching band when a man plowed his SUV through the parade, killing at least six people. Darrell Brooks Jr., 39, was charged with six counts of intentional homicide in the crash that also injured more than 60 people.

According to Donald Tiegs, Erick’s father, the teenager survived several serious injuries, including a spinal fracture, multiple broken ribs and a fractured skull and femur.

The Muskellunge Club of Wisconsin, a fishing club that Tiegs’ father was a part of, hosted the benefit on Sunday in his support.

John Donald, the director of sponsorship and donation for the club, told ABC News that he co-organized the benefit with four colleagues and his wife, Holly Donald, as “an opportunity for us to give back to an awesome family that went through a very difficult time.”

Erick Tiegs, who attended Sunday’s benefit, told reporters that he’s healing and getting better every day.

“It’s fun seeing all these people,” he said. “And it’s cool to see that everyone here supports, and wants to support me.”

Around 175 businesses pooled in items valued at more than $30,000, which were auctioned off at a fundraiser on Dec. 19 held in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

Others are still sending over cash checks to John Donald and his team in the form of donations, 100% of which will be sent to the Tiegs. John Donald said he expects the check to reach the family by the end of the week.

Local community members gathered to make bids on auction items, including guided tours in West Virginia and package trips to Canada, WISN reported.

While funds from the event are still coming in, Holly Donald told ABC News that the auction has raised around $24,000 in a check payable to the Tiegs.

“I don’t think any one of us could imagine being in their shoes,” John Donald told ABC News. “But I can tell you with the community that we have — and especially our tight-knit fishing community — if it were to happen to me, I guarantee they’d all step up and help me.”

 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The fate of Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein who is facing charges related to the alleged abuse and trafficking of underage girls, has been placed in the hands of a 12-person jury.

Judge Alison Nathan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York instructed seven women and five men to begin deliberating on Monday, following closing arguments that highlighted three weeks of opposing testimony from Maxwell’s accusers, former Epstein employees, and various other associates of the once glamorous, globetrotting couple.

Maxwell and Epstein “were partners in crime who sexually exploited young girls together,” according to prosecutors, who described Maxwell in their closing arguments as “a grown woman who preyed on vulnerable kids, young women from struggling families.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe said the pair selected their victims carefully, suggesting that it was no accident the four accusers who testified — “Jane,” “Kate,” Carolyn and Annie — came from single-parent households. They were isolated, Moe said, and plied with gifts and promises of career assistance in what she called a pattern of grooming and abuse.

“Maxwell was a sophisticated predator who knew exactly what she was doing,” Moe said. “She ran the same playbook again and again and again. She manipulated her victims and she groomed them for sexual abuse. She caused deep and lasting harm to young girls. It is time to hold her accountable.”

But Maxwell’s defense attorneys said that “Ghislaine Maxwell is an innocent woman” — the victim of “straight-up sensationalism” by prosecutors who “pivoted” to Maxwell once Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019.

Defense attorney Laura Menninger urged the jury to find Maxwell not guilty on each count she faces, arguing that the government’s case relied on the “erroneous memories” of four accusers who Menninger said “inserted” Maxwell into accounts that initially included only Epstein.

Prosecutors “bombed,” Menninger said, and “failed to deliver the goods” to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, relying on “smoke and mirrors” to equate Maxwell with Epstein.

“Ghislaine Maxwell is not Jeffrey Epstein,” Menninger said. “She’s being tried here for being with Jeffrey Epstein. Maybe that was the biggest mistake of her life, but it was not a crime.”

In contrast, prosecutor Maurene Comey called Maxwell “essential” to Epstein’s abuse. In a theatrical flourish to finish the case, Comey during her rebuttal pointed to Maxwell, seated at the defense table in a light colored sweater and black mask, and said, “This case is about that woman.”

“It’s about the children that she targeted, the steps that she took to serve those children up to be abused,” Comey said.

Menninger, in response, said, “What you heard, and more importantly what you did not hear over the last three weeks, is going to convince you the only verdict is not guilty.”

Maxwell faces a six-count indictment for allegedly conspiring with and aiding Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls between 1994 and 2004. She has been held without bail since her arrest in July 2020 and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

If convicted, Maxwell could spend decades in prison.

 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 807,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 61.5% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:
-Northeast sees highest number of pediatric cases of entire pandemic
-WHO DG recommends canceling or delaying holiday events
-US daily cases have nearly doubled since October
-Dr. Jha on omicron surge, holiday travel, his prediction for next year

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Dec 20, 4:16 pm
London cancels New Year’s Eve celebration in Trafalgar Square

London has canceled its New Year’s Eve celebration for 6,500 people in Trafalgar Square due to the omicron surge, Mayor Sadiq Khan said Monday.

“With infections of COVID-19 at record levels across our city and the U.K., I’m determined to work closely with partners in our city to do everything we possibly can to slow the spread of the new variant and ensure our NHS services are not overwhelmed this winter,” Khan said in a statement.

Khan declared a major incident in London on Saturday due to a rise in cases and a 29% increase in hospital admissions in the last week.

ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Dec 20, 4:00 pm
New York state breaks another case record

New York state broke its daily case record again on Sunday with an additional 23,391 positive cases, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

But the governor said she’s encouraged by reports of omicron waves spiking and receding fairly quickly in other countries.

“In terms of people’s own personal anxiety about it, just know that it’s very likely to be minor symptoms if you’re vaccinated and boosted,” she said.

ABC News’ Matt Foster

Dec 20, 3:45 pm
Northeast sees highest number of pediatric cases of entire pandemic

Nearly 170,000 children tested positive for COVID-19 last week, a roughly 28% jump in two weeks, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association released on Monday.

The Northeast saw its highest number of pediatric cases of the entire pandemic last week, with nearly 50,000 new cases.

On average, nearly 200 American children are being admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 each day, according to federal data.

Twenty-one million children ages 5 to 17 — about 40% of that population — have received at least one vaccine dose.

Severe illness due to COVID-19 remains “uncommon” among children, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association said. However, the organizations continue to warn that there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term consequences of the pandemic on children, “including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects.”

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Dec 20, 3:04 pm
University of Chicago to require boosters

The University of Chicago said students and employees must get a booster shot and have until the end of January to give proof or get an exemption.

The university hopes to fully return to in-person classes on Jan. 3.

Other universities like New York University and Notre Dame are also requiring boosters.

ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim

 

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(NEW YORK) — Moderna announced Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine booster increases antibody levels against the omicron variant within a month of getting the shot.

In a lab study, the company gave 20 fully vaccinated participants a 50-microgram booster — the current dose authorized by the Food and Drug Administration — and another 20 received a higher dose of 100 micrograms. After 29 days, the volunteers gave blood samples, which were analyzed.

Results showed people who received the 50-microgram booster saw their levels of neutralizing antibodies increase by 37-fold compared to pre-boost levels, while those given a 100-microgram booster saw their antibody levels rise 83-fold.

Side effects after the booster doses were similar to those seen after the initial two doses, but the 100-microgram booster was slightly more likely to cause adverse reactions than the 50-microgram dose, the company said.

The results come as the omicron variant continues to spread around the world and shows an ability to — at least partially — evade the protection offered by vaccines.

In a statement on Monday, Moderna’s CEO, Stéphane Bancel, said the findings are “reassuring.”

“The dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases from the omicron variant is concerning to all. However, these data showing that the currently authorized Moderna COVID-19 booster can boost neutralizing antibody levels 37-fold higher than pre-boost levels are reassuring,” he said.

“To respond to this highly transmissible variant, Moderna will continue to rapidly advance an omicron-specific booster candidate into clinical testing in case it becomes necessary in the future,” he continued.

A spokesperson for the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company told ABC News it will be up to federal regulators to decide whether to authorize the 100-microgram dose of Moderna’s booster or keep it at the currently-used 50-microgram dose.

Because participants were only followed up for one month after getting the booster, it’s unclear if antibody levels remain high or if the increase quickly wanes.

Additionally, the tests were conducted in a lab and are not indicative of how well the booster, at either dose, stops the spread of omicron or reduces the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death in people who get breakthrough infections in real-world settings.

Moderna said that, given how quickly the variant is spreading around the globe, the company will focus its “near-term efforts” on delivering as many doses of its authorized booster shot as possible.

The firm is also currently working on developing a booster specifically designed to combat the omicron variant, with clinical trials expected to begin early next year.

“Moderna is going to continue to evaluate an omicron-specific booster in early 2022, given the concerning immune escape features demonstrated by this variant of concern, as part of a more midterm strategy to address the ongoing pandemic,” the company’s president, Stephen Hoge, said on a conference call on Monday morning.

Earlier this month, health officials, such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, had suggested that developing an omicron-specific booster is not necessary.

However, Hoge said he believes it is “prudent” that Moderna’s scientists continue their work on creating a variant-specific booster due to fears that omicron could mutate even further.

 

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(NEW YORK) — The trial of former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter charged in the death of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was fatally shot during a traffic stop, continues with Potter taking the stand to testify in her own defense.

Potter, 49, is charged with first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 incident. She has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

The maximum sentence for first-degree manslaughter is 15 years and a $30,000 fine and for second-degree manslaughter, it’s 10 years and a $20,000 fine.

Wright’s death reignited protests against racism and police brutality across the U.S., as the killing took place just outside of Minneapolis, where the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, was taking place.

Latest headlines:
-Closing arguments begin
-‘I didn’t want to hurt anybody,’ Potter testifies
-Prosecution questions Kim Potter on training
-Potter describes fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright
-Kim Potter takes the stand
-New body-cam footage shows Potter moments after shooting Wright
-Brooklyn Center police officer contradicts defense statement
-Daunte Wright’s mother recalls final phone call with son
-Prosecution hammers Potter’s training

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Dec 20, 2:04 pm
Jury deliberations begin

Judge Regina Chu has read the instructions to the jury and they will now deliberate on the charges of first- and second-degree manslaughter against former Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter.

Included in the instructions are reminders of unconscious bias: “We all have feelings, assumptions, perceptions, fears, and stereotypes about others,” Chu read to the jury. “Some biases we are aware of and others we might not be fully aware of, which is why they are called ‘implicit’ or ‘unconscious biases.'”

“The law demands that you make a fair decision, based solely on the evidence, your individual evaluations of that evidence, your reason and common sense, and these instructions,” Chu read from the instructions.

Dec 20, 1:47 pm
Prosecution, defense spar on Sgt. Mychal Johnson’s testimony

In closing arguments, the defense said that Kim Potter was within her rights to use deadly force against Daunte Wright because he could have hurt another police officer with his car.

The defense claims Wright could have driven off, dragging Sgt. Mychal Johnson.

“What would have happened to Johnson? The worst would be death if he took off like he did — like a jet,” defense attorney Earl Gray said.

“[Potter] said she saw Johnson, that she saw him and he had a look on his face she’d never seen,” Gray added. “That was right before she said ‘Taser, Taser.'”

The prosecution argues there is no evidence that shows Potter was using force for Johnson’s protection or that Johnson was afraid for his life.

“Johnson was clearly not afraid of being dragged,” said prosecutor Matthew Frank. He never said he was scared. He didn’t say it then. And he didn’t testify to it in court.”

Prosecutors said Johnson wasn’t halfway into the car at the time of the shooting, and that he was “all the way over to the passenger side securing Mr. Wright’s right arm.”

Prosecutors also pointed to Potter’s reaction after the shooting, when she sobbed on the ground and said she would be going to jail in the body camera footage.

“When Sergeant Johnson said ‘he was trying to drive away with me in the car,’ which isn’t even true, but he offered that to her and she didn’t even bite on it,” Frank told jurors. “She was so caught up in recognition of the wrongfulness of her own conduct.”

Dec 20, 12:57 pm
Defense tells jury that state has the burden of proof

Defense attorney Earl Gray told the jury to remember that “your constitutional duty is to presume Kim Potter innocent. And before you can find her guilty, you must find each and every element of the charges is proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

It is on the prosecution to prove Potter is guilty. It is not the responsibility of the defense to prove her not guilty, according to Gray and prosecutor Erin Eldridge. Gray argued throughout the trial that it was within Potter’s right to use deadly force against a fleeing subject.

“The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant’s use of deadly force was not authorized by law,” Gray said. “You must presume that she had a right authorized use of deadly force, that she had a right to do it.”

“This is the most important affair in the client’s life,” Gray said.

Dec 20, 12:49 pm
Defense argues that Wright caused his death

Defense attorney Earl Gray said that Daunte Wright, who was fatally shot during a traffic stop, caused his own death. Officers tried to arrest Wright, but he attempted to get back in his car to flee, police said.

“Wright realizes there’s a warrant for his arrest, and he knows what he knows,” Gray argued. “So within seconds, he all of a sudden breaks away. That’s the cause, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. That’s what caused this whole incident.”

Wright was being arrested for an outstanding warrant on a gross misdemeanor weapons charge, according to authorities.

“Daunte Wright caused his death,” Gray said during closing arguments Monday. “Everything the officers did, they did to try and restrain him try and stop him from leaving.”

 

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(NEW YORK) — The three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery appeared in federal court on Monday for a pretrial hearing. They will be tried on federal charges of hate crimes and attempted kidnapping early next year.

Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was shot and killed while jogging in the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick, Georgia, in February 2020.

The men, Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, were convicted by a Georgia jury on Nov. 24 for killing Arbery.

Travis McMichael, who shot fatally shot Arbery, was convicted on all nine charges, including malice murder and four counts of felony murder. Gregory McMichael was found not guilty of malice murder but was convicted on the remaining charges, including the felony murder counts. Bryan was found guilty of three of the felony murder counts and a charge of criminal intent to commit a felony.

The McMichaels and Bryan are set to be sentenced on Jan. 7 and face a minimum of life in prison. A judge will decide whether or not the men will have the possibility of parole.

In April, the three men were also indicted on federal charges. The McMichaels were charged with separate counts of using firearms during a crime of violence. All three men have pleaded not guilty to all of the federal charges.

The federal trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 7, 2022.

ABC News’ Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.

 

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