National

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.8 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 925,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 64.5% 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:

Feb 16, 12:44 pm
Updated mask guidance from CDC could come next week

Updated mask guidance from the CDC is expected to come as early as next week, officials confirmed to ABC News.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky did not elaborate on the timing at Wednesday’s White House briefing, only saying the CDC could “soon” update its guidance.

“We are looking at all of our guidance based not only on where we are right now in the pandemic, but also on the tools we now have at our disposal — such as vaccines, boosters, tests and treatments — and our latest understanding of the disease,” Walensky said. “We want to give people a break from things like mask wearing when these metrics are better and then have the ability to reach for them again should things worsen.”

Walensky added, “Omicron cases are declining and we are all cautiously optimistic about the trajectory we are on … but we want to remain vigilant to do all we can so that this trajectory continues.”

Walensky also stressed that it is still critical for Americans to continue to wear masks if they are symptomatic, have been recently exposed or if they are 10 days post-COVID-19 diagnosis.

-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty and Arielle Mitropoulos

Feb 16, 11:47 am
Deaths projected to drop in weeks to come

Forecast models used by the CDC suggest that daily COVID-19 fatalities will finally begin to fall in the U.S. in the weeks to come.

The ensemble model estimates that only eight states have a greater than 50% chance of having more deaths over the next two weeks compared to the past two weeks, and two states and territories have a greater than 75% chance of seeing an increase.

The models predict the U.S. death toll will be at approximately 968,000 by March 12.

The CDC obtains the forecasts from the COVID-19 Forecast Hub at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where a team monitors and combines forecasting models from the nation’s top researchers. The team then creates an ensemble — displayed like a hurricane forecast spaghetti plot — usually with a wide cone of uncertainty.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Feb 16, 10:50 am
Deaths increasing in 15 states

The U.S. daily case rate has dropped to 144,000 — an 81% drop since the peak about one month ago, according to federal data.

But experts continue to caution that the pandemic is not over, with the country reporting millions of new cases every week and 97% of counties still reporting high transmission. Experts also point out that many Americans are taking at-home tests and not submitting their results, so case totals may be higher than reported.

Deaths — a lagging indicator — remain high.

The U.S. is reporting an average of 2,200 lives lost to COVID-19 each day.

Fifteen states are reporting at least a 10% increase in daily death rates over the last week: Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Feb 16, 10:00 am
Report highlights mounting evidence vaccines can significantly reduce risk of developing long COVID

A new report from the United Kingdom’s public health agency highlights mounting evidence that getting vaccinated can significantly reduce the risk of developing long COVID.

Most people recover fully from COVID-19 but some experience symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath and brain fog for months after infection.

The U.K. report summarizes the results of 15 previously published studies on long COVID from around the world. Collectively, these studies suggest that people who have been vaccinated are far less likely to develop long COVID.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos, Sony Salzman

Feb 16, 7:37 am
WHO: Weekly global number of COVID-19 cases fell by 19%

The global number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases fell by 19% during the week ending on Feb. 13, compared to the previous week, according to a weekly epidemiological update released Tuesday by the World Health Organization.

Meanwhile, the number of newly recorded deaths from the disease that week remained similar to that of the previous week. Just over 16 million new cases and just under 75,000 new fatalities were reported worldwide during the week of Feb. 7 to Feb. 13, the WHO said.

All WHO regions reported decreases in the number of weekly cases except for the Western Pacific region, which reported an increase of 19%. The number of new weekly deaths increased in the Eastern Mediterranean region, the Western Pacific region, the African region and the region of the Americas, while it remained similar to that of the previous week in the European region and decreased in the Southeast Asia region, according to the WHO.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.8 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 925,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 64.5% 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:

Feb 16, 10:50 am
Deaths increasing in 15 states

The U.S. daily case rate has dropped to 144,000 — an 81% drop since the peak about one month ago, according to federal data.

But experts continue to caution that the pandemic is not over, with the country reporting millions of new cases every week and 97% of counties still reporting high transmission. Experts also point out that many Americans are taking at-home tests and not submitting their results, so case totals may be higher than reported.

Deaths — a lagging indicator — remain high.

The U.S. is reporting an average of 2,200 lives lost to COVID-19 each day.

Fifteen states are reporting at least a 10% increase in daily death rates over the last week: Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Feb 16, 10:00 am
Report highlights mounting evidence vaccines can significantly reduce risk of developing long COVID

A new report from the United Kingdom’s public health agency highlights mounting evidence that getting vaccinated can significantly reduce the risk of developing long COVID.

Most people recover fully from COVID-19 but some experience symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath and brain fog for months after infection.

The U.K. report summarizes the results of 15 previously published studies on long COVID from around the world. Collectively, these studies suggest that people who have been vaccinated are far less likely to develop long COVID.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos, Sony Salzman

Feb 16, 7:37 am
WHO: Weekly global number of COVID-19 cases fell by 19%

The global number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases fell by 19% during the week ending on Feb. 13, compared to the previous week, according to a weekly epidemiological update released Tuesday by the World Health Organization.

Meanwhile, the number of newly recorded deaths from the disease that week remained similar to that of the previous week. Just over 16 million new cases and just under 75,000 new fatalities were reported worldwide during the week of Feb. 7 to Feb. 13, the WHO said.

All WHO regions reported decreases in the number of weekly cases except for the Western Pacific region, which reported an increase of 19%. The number of new weekly deaths increased in the Eastern Mediterranean region, the Western Pacific region, the African region and the region of the Americas, while it remained similar to that of the previous week in the European region and decreased in the Southeast Asia region, according to the WHO.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Two young Texas sheriff’s deputies are recovering after they were shot in an “ambush,” but managed to return fire, fatally shooting the suspect, officials said.

The Harris County sheriff’s deputies — ages 27 and 28 — were both hospitalized in stable condition, Harris County Chief Deputy Edison Toquica told reporters late Tuesday.

The incident began when the officers responded to a call Tuesday night by someone who reported a family member firing a gun in the home, Toquica said.

Deputies were confronted by the suspect, who Toquica said immediately pointed his gun at the deputies and fired in their direction.

One deputy was hit in the leg and the other was struck in the leg and grazed in the head and ear, Toquica said.

The deputies returned fire, hitting the suspect, who died from his injuries, he said.

Toquica commended the deputies, saying they “probably wouldn’t have done anything different … they approached the residence as they should have.”

“They were ambushed,” he said.

Remarking on how the deputies returned fire after being shot, Toquica said, “They stayed in the fight and did what they were supposed to do, and as a result, they’re alive.”

One deputy has been on the job for two years and the other has been on the force for one year, he said.

The suspect had been out on a personal recognizance bond for a 2020 charge of aggravated assault of a family member, Toquica added.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.8 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 925,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 64.5% 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 Wednesday. All times Eastern:

Feb 16, 7:37 am
WHO: Weekly global number of COVID-19 cases fell by 19%

The global number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases fell by 19% during the week ending on Feb. 13, compared to the previous week, according to a weekly epidemiological update released Tuesday by the World Health Organization.

Meanwhile, the number of newly recorded deaths from the disease that week remained similar to that of the previous week. Just over 16 million new cases and just under 75,000 new fatalities were reported worldwide during the week of Feb. 7 to Feb. 13, the WHO said.

All WHO regions reported decreases in the number of weekly cases except for the Western Pacific region, which reported an increase of 19%. The number of new weekly deaths increased in the Eastern Mediterranean region, the Western Pacific region, the African region and the region of the Americas, while it remained similar to that of the previous week in the European region and decreased in the Southeast Asia region, according to the WHO.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(SAN FRANCISCO) — San Francisco voters overwhelmingly cast their ballots to remove three members of the city’s school board Tuesday night, marking the first time in the city’s history members of the board have been recalled.

In an election marred by debate over the pace of school reopenings during the pandemic and the management of controversial social issues in the district, School Board President Gabriela López and board members Faauuga Moliga and Alison Collins were all ousted, with more than 70% of voters backing the effort to recall them, preliminary results from the San Francisco Board of Elections showed.

“As the first results post for the recall election, it appears we were unsuccessful at defeating my recall,” Moliga said on his Facebook page. “We fought hard and ran a great campaign. I want to thank the Pacific Islander community for standing up and taking on this challenge. There are many more fights ahead of us.”

The three members will now be replaced with appointees selected by Mayor London Breed, who endorsed the recall, until another election is held for the positions in November.

In a statement Tuesday night, Breed said that voters “delivered a clear message that the School Board must focus on the essentials of delivering a well-run school system above all else” and recognized “all the parents who tirelessly organized and advocated in the last year.”

“Elections can be difficult, but these parents were fighting for what matters most — their children,” Breed said. “It’s time we refocus our efforts on the basics of providing quality education for all students, while more broadly improving how this City delivers support for children and families.”

When reached for comment by ABC News, Autumn Looijen, campaign co-lead at Recall the SF School Board, said over text that the reaction in her house was “total celebration.”

“It’s one thing to think you’ll win,” she said. “Quite another once it’s real.”

San Francisco’s recall has drawn widespread attention amid a year in which 25 recall efforts have been launched against 66 officials nationwide, according to tracking by Ballotpedia.

“School boards are where the rubber meets the road when it comes to Americans meeting their government,” ABC News Political Director Rick Klein said of the recall. “Schools, for better or worse, are the battlefront. They’re where the major issues of 2022 are colliding for so many Americans.”

Financial documents reviewed by ABC News show the effort in San Francisco has largely been bankrolled by big donors who don’t have children in the district.

According to campaign finance records, some of the biggest backers are 95-year-old billionaire Arthur Rock and PayPal COO David Sacks, who contributed nearly $400,000 and more than $74,000, respectively.

“You’d never think that a liberal member of a school board in San Francisco would have to worry about his or her job,” Klein said. “The power of the arguments that are being put forward and on display in this recall election, I think will animate so many campaigns up and down the ballot for state and national political office in 2022.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.8 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 923,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 64.4% 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:
-Kids’ hospitalization rate 4x higher during omicron surge than delta surge: Study
-US hospitalizations, cases keep dropping
-Omicron and its sublineages accounting for 100% of new cases

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

Feb 15, 7:02 pm
Canada to ease some COVID-19 border entry requirements

Canada will loosen some of its border entry requirements, the country’s Public Health Agency announced Tuesday.

Effective Feb. 28 at 12:01 a.m. ET, fully vaccinated travelers will have the option of using a rapid COVID-19 test to meet pre-entry requirements. The test must be administered by a lab or health care entity the day prior to their scheduled flight or arrival at the land border.

Currently, travelers entering Canada must show proof of a negative molecular test, such as a PCR test, taken within 72 hours of their scheduled flight or planned arrival.

Additionally, fully vaccinated travelers randomly selected to do a molecular test on arrival will no longer be required to quarantine while waiting for their results.

Unvaccinated travelers will continue to be required to test on arrival, and unvaccinated foreign nationals will not be permitted to enter Canada unless they meet an exemption.

The adjustments come as the omicron wave has “passed its peak in Canada,” the Public Health Agency said. “As provinces and territories adjust their public health measures, and as we transition away from the crisis phase, it is now time to move towards a more sustainable approach to long-term management of COVID-19.”

ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Feb 15, 4:14 pm
Coachella, Stagecoach drop vaccination, mask, testing requirements

There will be no vaccination, testing or mask requirements for this year’s Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals in Southern California.

Coachella will be over two weekends — April 15 to 17 and April 22 to 24 — while Stagecoach is set for the weekend of April 29 to May 1.

Event organizers said the festivals will “be presented in accordance with applicable public health conditions as of the date of the event and which may change at any time as determined by federal, state or local government agencies or instrumentalities, artists or the promoter; such requirements may include, without limitation, changes to capacity, attendance procedures and entry requirements, such as proof of vaccination and/or negative COVID-19 test, and other protective measures such as requiring attendees to wear face coverings.”

Feb 15, 3:03 pm
Kids’ hospitalization rate 4x higher during omicron surge than delta surge: Study

The rate of hospitalizations for children and teenagers was four times higher during the omicron surge than the delta surge, according to a CDC report released Tuesday.

Children under 5 — who are ineligible for vaccination — showed the largest hospitalization rate increase, the report found. Hospitalization rates among kids under 5 were about five times higher during the peak week of omicron than during delta’s peak.

ABC News’ Dr. Alexis E. Carrington and Dr. Meaghan C. Costello

Feb 15, 2:08 pm
Getting vaccinated while pregnant may help prevent hospitalization in babies under 6 months: Study

Getting the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series during pregnancy may help prevent COVID-19 hospitalizations for babies under 6 months old, according to a CDC report.

Prior studies have shown that mothers could possibly pass on antibodies during pregnancy, but this is the first study showing an association between getting vaccinated and protecting the baby.

The study looked at babies under 6 months who were admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 and compared them to babies under 6 months who were admitted to the hospital for another reason.

The study found babies with mothers who were vaccinated were 61% less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19. Of the babies hospitalized with COVID, 84% of their mothers weren’t vaccinated, the study found.

However, this study was conducted when delta was the predominant variant, so more babies need to be studied to see if data changed with omicron. This study also did not look at how effective boosters are in pregnancy.

ABC News’ Dr. Alexis E. Carrington and Dr. Meaghan C. Costello

 

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A fired Minneapolis police officer charged alongside two former colleagues with violating George Floyd’s civil rights during the fatal arrest took the witness stand in his own defense on Tuesday, saying he “had a different role” than restraining the 46-year-old handcuffed Black man.

Tou Thao, 35, is the first defendant charged in the high-profile federal case to speak publicly about his actions during the 2020 episode that prompted nationwide protests and resulted in the murder conviction of his then-senior officer Derek Chauvin in state court last year.

Thao’s co-defendants, J. Alexander Kueng, 28, and Thomas Lane, 38, have also informed U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson that they will testify in the trial taking place in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Thao was among the first witnesses called by the defense a day after prosecutors rested their case.

He testified that his dream of becoming a police officer was forged by a childhood experience in which Minneapolis police were called to his home to quell a domestic violence incident involving his abusive father, whom he said beat him and his siblings with an extension cord and threatened them with a gun.

Thao said he was trained to use knees to restrain suspects

He testified that as part of his training in the Minneapolis Police Department he was taught to use his knees to keep a suspect pinned to the ground.

Thao’s attorney Robert Paule, displayed for the jury a photo of Thao taken during training in 2009 at the police academy. It showed him and another cadet pinning a handcuffed actor posing as a suspect to the ground in a prone position. Thao explained that he and the other cadet were using their knees to restrain the suspect.

Thao testified that using a knee as leverage prevents a suspect from rolling around or getting up.

“Just to be clear, is this something that was typically taught at the academy when you were there?” Paule asked as he showed the jury several photos of police cadets in training sessions with their knees on the backs and necks of actors pretending to be suspects.

Thao replied, “Yes.”

Paule then asked, “Were you ever told it’s improper?”

Thao answered, “No.”

Several training supervisors from the Minneapolis Police Department testified for the prosecution that all three defendants appeared to ignore their training as the handcuffed Floyd was being held to the ground and became unconscious. Kueng was captured on police body-camera footage played for the jury saying he couldn’t detect Floyd’s pulse.

Prosecutors alleged that none of the defendants did anything to stop Chauvin’s excessive use of force or provide medical assistance to Floyd when he needed it most.

“Super-human strength”

Thao testified that he and Chauvin were partnered up on the day of the Floyd incident. He said they were eating lunch at their precinct when the call came in about Floyd’s arrest outside a Cup Foods store.

He said that as he and Chauvin were responding to back up Lane and Kueng, a dispatcher called them off. But Thao said he and Chauvin continued to drive to Cup Foods.

“From my experience, Cup Foods is hostile to police. It’s a well-known Bloods gang hangout,” Thao testified, adding that he figured Lane and Kueng would not have been aware of that because they were rookies.

He said that he and Chauvin were initially just going to act as security in case things got out of hand, but when they arrived they found Lane and Kueng struggling to get a combative Floyd into the back of a squad car.

Thao testified that in his eight years as police officer, he had “never seen this much of a struggle.” He said it appeared that Floyd was on some kind of drugs and that he had “super-human strength that more than three officers could handle.”

He testified that Floyd complained that he couldn’t breathe while the officers were trying to get him into the squad car. He noted that such a complaint “became a regular occurrence” after Eric Garner, a 43-year-old Black man, died in 2014 after a New York City police officer placed him in a banned chokehold and he repeatedly complained, “I can’t breathe.”

“I had a different role”

Thao said that he initially suggested using a hobble device to restrain Floyd, but decided against it because he suspected Floyd was experiencing “excited delirium,” a syndrome in which a subject displays wild agitation and violent behavior that can sometimes lead to death. He said the use of a hobble would have required a sergeant’s approval and could have delayed the arrival of emergency medical services.

He told the jury that as Lane, Kueng and Chauvin restrained Floyd on the ground, he radioed dispatch to step up the EMS response and made himself “a human traffic cone” by standing in the street to keep cars from hitting Floyd and the other officers.

Paule asked Thao what his response was to seeing Chauvin, a training officer, with his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck.

“It was not uncommon. We had been trained on it,” Thao said.

He said he was more focused on keeping at bay a growing crowd that had gathered.

Paule then asked why he didn’t get physically involved in dealing with Floyd. Thao responded, “I had a different role. I assumed they were caring for him.”

“I had no idea”

Thao testified that he didn’t realize the seriousness of Floyd’s condition until after paramedics took him away in an ambulance and firefighters arrived on the scene looking to assist paramedics with CPR.

“Did you have any idea up to that point of the seriousness of the medical condition of Mr. Floyd?” Paule asked.

Thao answered, “I had no idea.”

“I kind of connected the dots … OK. I guess this guy was in critical condition when they left,” Thao said.

Under cross-examination from Assistant U.S. Attorney LeeAnn Bell, Thao acknowledged he was aware of Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck, that Floyd had stopped talking and appeared to be unconscious. He also agreed that police are trained to immediately start CPR if someone loses a pulse and there are no paramedics around, and have a duty to intervene when they witness another cop committing a crime.

All three defendants are charged with using the “color of the law,” or their positions as police officers, to deprive Floyd of his civil rights by allegedly showing deliberate indifference to his medical needs as Chauvin kneeled on the back of the handcuffed man’s neck for more than nine minutes, ultimately killing him.

Kueng and Thao both face an additional charge alleging they knew Chauvin was kneeling on Floyd’s neck but did nothing to stop him. Lane, who appeared to express concern for Floyd’s well-being during the encounter, does not face the additional charge.

They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

ABC News’ Whitney Lloyd contributed to this report.

 

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Remington Arms agreed Tuesday to settle liability claims from the families of five adults and four children killed in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, according to a new court filing, marking the first time a gun manufacturer has been held accountable for a mass shooting in the U.S.

Remington agreed to pay the families $73 million.

The settlement comes over seven years after the families sued the maker of the Bushmaster XM15-E2S semiautomatic rifle that was used in the 2012 mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Nicole Hockley, whose son, Dylan, was killed in the shooting, said in a statement, “My beautiful butterfly, Dylan, is gone because Remington prioritized its profit over my son’s safety. Marketing weapons of war directly to young people known to have a strong fascination with firearms is reckless and, as too many families know, deadly conduct. Using marketing to convey that a person is more powerful or more masculine by using a particular type or brand of firearm is deeply irresponsible.”

“My hope is that by facing and finally being penalized for the impact of their work, gun companies, along with the insurance and banking industries that enable them, will be forced to make their business practices safer than they have ever been,” Hockley said.

On Dec. 14, 2012, Adam Lanza, 20, forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School, and in the course of 264 seconds, fatally shot 20 first graders and six staff members.

The rifle Lanza used was Remington’s version of the AR-15 assault rifle, which is substantially similar to the standard issue M16 military service rifle used by the U.S. Army and other nations’ armed forces, but fires only in semiautomatic mode.

The families argued Remington negligently entrusted to civilian consumers an assault-style rifle that is suitable for use only by military and law enforcement personnel and violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act through the sale or wrongful marketing of the rifle.

Remington, which filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2020, had argued all of the plaintiffs’ legal theories were barred under Connecticut law and by a federal statute — the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act — which, with limited exceptions, immunizes firearms manufacturers, distributors and dealers from civil liability for crimes committed by third parties using their weapons.

Francine Wheeler, mother of 6-year-old victim Benjamin Wheeler, said at Tuesday’s news conference, “Today is about how and why he died. Today is about what is right and what is wrong. Today is about the last five minutes of his life. Which were tragic, traumatic and the worst thing that can happen to a child.”

“Our legal system has given us some justice today but … David [Ben’s father] and I will never have true justice,” she said. “True justice would be our 15-year-old healthy and standing next to us right now. But Ben will never be 15. He will be 6 forever.”

David Wheeler added, “We want to make sure that another father and another mother don’t have to stand here someday.”

Lenny Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, whose son, Noah, was killed at Sandy Hook, said in a statement, “Our loss is irreversible, and in that sense this outcome is neither redemptive nor restorative. One moment we had this dazzling, energetic 6-year-old little boy, and the next all we had left were echoes of the past, photographs of a lost boy who will never grow older, calendars marking a horrifying new anniversary, a lonely grave, and pieces of Noah’s life stored in a backpack and boxes.”

“Every day is a realization that he should be there, and he is not. What is lost remains lost,” they said. “However, the resolution does provide a measure of accountability in an industry that has thus far operated with impunity. For this, we are grateful.”

President Joe Biden called the Sandy Hook settlement “historic” in a statement and noted that “while this settlement does not erase the pain of that tragic day, it does begin the necessary work of holding gun manufacturers accountable.”

He praised “the perseverance of nine families who turned tragedy into purpose,” who he said showed state and city consumer protection laws can hold gun manufacturers and dealers accountable even as they’re shielded at the federal level.

 

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A federal jury in New York on Tuesday has rejected former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s libel suit against the New York Times a day after a judge said he will dismiss the case no matter what verdict was reached.

The jury informed Judge Jed Rakoff that after a little over two days of deliberations it found The New York Times was not liable for defaming Palin.

The jury’s decision follows Rakoff’s announcement on Monday to attorneys in the case that he will set aside the verdict and dismiss the lawsuit because Palin had not met the high standard of showing The Times had acted with “actual malice” when it published an editorial that erroneously linked Palin’s political action committee to a mass shooting.

In explaining his decision, Rakoff said he believed it is inevitable that the case will be appealed and that such an action would benefit from knowing how the jury’s deliberations turned out.

As she left the courthouse on Monday, Palin said she was puzzled by the judge’s decision.

“This is a jury trial and we always appreciate the system,” Palin told news reporters. “So whatever happened in there usurps the system.”

In a statement published in The Times, the newspaper’s spokeswoman, Danielle Rhoades Ha, called Rakoff’s decision “a reaffirmation of a fundamental tenet of American law” protecting freedom of the press.

“Public figures should not be permitted to use libel suits to punish or intimidate news organizations that make, acknowledge and swiftly correct unintentional errors,” Ha said.

Palin’s legal team said it is considering whether file an appeal.

“We will evaluate our positions,” Palin’s attorney, Ken Turkel, said.

As she entered a car outside the lower Manhattan courthouse Tuesday, Palin was asked by reporters if she will appeal. She replied, “I hope so.”

Palin, 58, sued The Times in 2017, roughly nine years after she was tapped to be Sen. John McCain’s GOP vice presidential nominee, claiming the newspaper deliberately ruined her burgeoning career as a political commentator and consultant by publishing an erroneous editorial she said defamed her.

The editorial that prompted the lawsuit was published on the same day a gunman opened fire on GOP politicians practicing for a congressional charity baseball game in a Washington, D.C., suburb, injuring six, including Republican Rep. Steve Scalise.

Under the headline “America’s Lethal Politics,” The Times’ editorial board wrote on June 14, 2017, that prior to the 2011 Arizona mass shooting that killed six people and left then-Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords with a traumatic brain injury, Palin’s political action committee had fueled a violent atmosphere by circulating a map that put the electoral districts of Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized crosshairs.

Two days later, The Times published a correction saying the editorial had “incorrectly described” the map and “incorrectly stated that a link existed between political rhetoric and the 2011 shooting.”

During the trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Palin portrayed herself as the biblical David going up against the Philistine giant Goliath with just a slingshot. Palin, in her testimony, accused The Times of deliberately fabricating information to sully her reputation.

The Times’ former editorial page editor, James Bennet, testified that while he was responsible for the erroneous information in the editorial, it was an honest mistake and that he meant no harm.

 

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(MINNEAPOLIS) — A fired Minneapolis police officer charged alongside two former colleagues with violating George Floyd’s civil rights during the fatal arrest took the witness stand in his own defense on Tuesday.

Tou Thao, 35, is the first defendant charged in the high-profile federal case to speak publicly about his actions during the 2020 episode that prompted nationwide protests and resulted in the murder conviction of his then-senior officer Derek Chauvin in state court last year.

Thao’s co-defendants, J. Alexander Kueng, 28, and Thomas Lane, 38, have also informed U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson that they will testify in the trial taking place in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Thao was among the first witnesses called by the defense a day after prosecutors rested their case.

He testified that as part of his training in the Minneapolis Police Department he was taught to use his knees to keep a suspect pinned to the ground, according to ABC affiliate station KSTP in St. Paul.

Thao’s attorney Robert Paule, displayed for the jury a photo of Thao taken during training in 2009 at the police academy. It showed him and another cadet pinning a handcuffed actor posing as a suspect to the ground in a prone position. Thao explained that he and the other cadet were using their knees to restrain the suspect.

Thao testified that using a knee as leverage prevents a suspect from rolling around or getting up.

“Just to be clear, is this something that was typically taught at the academy when you were there?” Paule asked as he showed the jury several photos of police cadets in training sessions with their knees on the backs and necks of actors pretending to be suspects.

Thao replied, “Yes.”

Several training supervisors from the Minneapolis Police Department testified for the prosecution that all three defendants appeared to ignore their training as the handcuffed Floyd was being held to the ground and became unconscious. Kueng was captured on police body-camera footage played for the jury saying he couldn’t detect Floyd’s pulse.

Prosecutors alleged that none of the defendants did anything to stop Chauvin’s excessive use of force or provide medical assistance to Floyd when he needed it most.

Officer Nicole Mackenzie, the department’s medical support coordinator, testified she personally instructed Lane and Kueng, both rookie police officers at the time of the episode with Floyd, in a police academy “emergency medical responder” class that covered first aid and ethics in care. She also said records show that Thao took a refresher course covering the same topics.

All three men are charged with using the “color of the law,” or their positions as police officers, to deprive Floyd of his civil rights by allegedly showing deliberate indifference to his medical needs as Chauvin kneeled on the back of the handcuffed man’s neck for more than nine minutes, ultimately killing him.

Kueng and Thao both face an additional charge alleging they knew Chauvin was kneeling on Floyd’s neck but did nothing to stop him. Lane, who appeared to express concern for Floyd’s well-being during the encounter, does not face the additional charge.

They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Chauvin was convicted in Minnesota state court in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison.

Chauvin, 45, also pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges stemming from Floyd’s death and the abuse of a 14-year-old boy he bashed in the head with a flashlight in 2017. He admitted in the signed plea agreement with federal prosecutors that he knelt on the back of Floyd’s neck even as Floyd complained he could not breathe, fell unconscious and lost a pulse.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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