Las Vegas Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs III was involved in a fiery car crash early Tuesday morning that killed one person and will lead to Ruggs being charged with DUI resulting in death.
According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, officers “responded to a traffic collision near the intersection of South Rainbow Boulevard and South Spring Valley Parkway, involving a Chevrolet Corvette and a Toyota Rav4. Responding officers located the Toyota on fire. Fire department personnel responded and located a deceased woman inside the Toyota. The preliminary investigation indicates the front of the Chevrolet collided with the rear of the Toyota.
“The driver of the Chevrolet, identified as 22-year-old Henry Rugs (sic) III, remained on scene and showed signs of impairment. He was transported to UMC hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Ruggs will be charged with DUI resulting in death. This is an on-going investigation,” the Las Vegas Metro PD said in its statement.
There was a female passenger in Ruggs’ car who was also transported to a hospital. She was not immediately identified.
If convicted, Ruggs would face two to 20 years in prison.
Charges were not yet filed. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said he was aware of the crash and would await results of the police investigation.
Ruggs’ attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, said that on behalf of their client they also were investigating the crash “and ask everyone to reserve judgment until all the facts are gathered.”
“The Raiders are aware of an accident involving Henry Ruggs III that occurred this morning in Las Vegas. We are devastated by the loss of life and our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim’s family. We are in the process of gathering information and will have no further comment at this time,” the team said in a statement.
An NFL spokesman said: “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the victim of this horrific tragedy. We will continue to gather facts and monitor the matter under our policies, but our thoughts at this time are with those impacted by this devastating incident.”
The Raiders (5-2) were on their bye week but reported back to team headquarters on Monday before having an off day on Tuesday. They were scheduled to begin practicing Wednesday before Sunday’s game at the New York Giants (2-6).
Ruggs lost a childhood friend, Rod Scott, in a car accident in 2016, and Ruggs pays tribute to him by putting up three fingers — Scott wore No. 3 — to the sky after big plays.
Ruggs was the Raiders’ first-round draft pick in 2020 out of Alabama, No. 12 overall, and at the time, Raiders owner Mark Davis said of the speedy wideout, “He was the only person I wanted in this draft.”
With 24 catches for 469 yards and two touchdowns, Ruggs’ 19.5 yards per catch average is second in the NFL among pass-catchers with at least 20 receptions. Ruggs was drafted for his speed — he ran a 4.27-second 40-yard dash at the combine — and ability to stretch the field, and all four of his career touchdowns have been at least 46 yards.
On Jan. 4, Raiders Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs was involved in a single-car accident and arrested for DUI after a crash near the McCarran Airport Connector and East Sunset Road at 4:42 a.m., hours after the Raiders’ season-finale victory at Denver. But an ensuing investigation found Jacobs’ blood alcohol level was below the legal limit and DUI charges were not filed.
Virginia’s off-year gubernatorial race is always seen as the first major political test for both parties following a presidential election. The matchup between Democrat Terry McAuliffe, who first served as governor of Virginia between 2014 and 2018, and Republican Glenn Youngkin, is no exception.
It’s the first major competitive race since former President Donald Trump left office, and McAuliffe has sought to closely tie Youngkin, a former private equity executive and political newcomer, to the former president throughout the general election campaign. Youngkin, who received Trump’s endorsement in May after securing the GOP nomination, has had to walk a thin line between fully embracing the former president and his support and keeping enough of a distance so as not to alienate voters who did not back Trump but may be open to supporting Youngkin over McAuliffe.
Virginia trended blue during Trump’s presidency. In 2019, Democrats won trifecta control of government in Richmond by flipping the state legislature. In 2020, the commonwealth rejected Trump by nearly double the vote of the 2016 election. But despite Democrats’ gains, the race between McAuliffe and Youngkin is a toss-up, with the Democrat only leading by a couple points according to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average.
When he first ascended to the governor’s mansion by a slim 2.5-point margin, McAuliffe broke the “Virginia curse” of candidates losing the commonwealth’s gubernatorial race if they had the same party affiliation as the current occupant of the White House. With his longtime friend President Joe Biden in the White House, McAuliffe is hoping to break it again. But if Youngkin prevails, it will be a decisive warning shot to Democrats going into the 2022 midterms as they attempt to protect their slim majorities in the House and Senate.
*Counties are colored red or blue when the % expected vote reporting reaches a set threshold. This threshold varies by state and is based on patterns of past vote reporting and expectations about how the vote will report this year.
Continental Resources Executive Chairman and founder discusses the Biden administration’s impact on the oil industry, natural gas demand, Russia and China’s absence at the climate summit and Election Day.
The Biden administration unveiled its Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan on Tuesday, as President Biden addressed a global audience at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
The plan reflects Biden’s philosophy of shifting toward more climate-friendly energy in a way that he believes will produce new jobs and innovations.
“This new set of actions rest on a deep technical and scientific understanding of methane emissions, their sources and mitigation opportunities. And they leverage growing momentum,” a White House document that details the plan says. “In recent years, federal, state and local agencies as well as private sector leaders have initiated a number of commonsense regulatory and voluntary efforts to reduce methane emissions, while supporting innovation in next-generation technologies to detect and reduce methane emissions across the economy.”
President Biden speaks at the COP26 Summit, in Glasgow, Scotland, Nov. 2, 2021. (Steve Reigate/Pool Photo via AP / AP Newsroom)
The primary area that the plan targets for reducing methane emissions is the oil and gas sector, which the administration says is “the largest industrial source of methane emissions in the United States.”
To do this, the Environmental Protection Agency will be proposing new guidelines and standards under the Clean Air Act. This would include updated standards for detecting and repairing leaks and moving from current pneumatic controllers to utilizing zero-emission technology.
Additionally, the Department of the Interior plans to address “wasteful venting and flaring of gas during drilling operations” and well leaks. The Department of Transportation would also be involved, tackling leaks in oil and gas pipelines, as well as liquified natural gas and underground natural gas storage facilities.
The administration is also looking to reduce emissions from landfills by cutting food waste by 50% by 2030, and to cut emissions from abandoned coal mines.
Trinidad Drilling rigs are seen off Highway 59 outside of Douglas, Wyoming, in March 2013.
The action plan also calls for working with farmers and ranchers to reduce methane emissions by using new equipment and practices related to manure management. The Department of Agriculture will also launch a public-private partnership to boost “on-farm” renewable energy.
At a methane event Tuesday morning, Biden stressed not just the need to take these actions, but what he believes is a chance to turn the global economy in a direction that will create new jobs.
“This isn’t just something we have to do to protect the environment and our future, it’s an enormous opportunity … for all of us, all of our nations to create jobs and make meeting climate goals a core part of our global economic recovery as well,” Biden said.
Key Democratic Senator Joe Manchin is demanding more time to get “clarity” on the economic impact of the social spending package put forward by President Biden and other Democrats. In remarks to reporters on Monday, Manchin blasted House progressives for holding the bipartisan infrastructure bill hostage.
Last week before leaving for Europe, President Biden announced a $1.75 trillion social-spending framework, trimmed down from the original $3.5 trillion. But Manchin made it clear Monday he still isn’t comfortable with the framework in its current state, and the Senate can’t pass the legislation without him. Democrats had hoped to possibly vote on both the infrastructure and the reconciliation bill this week, but Manchin’s comments indicated that might not be possible.
“As more of the real details outlined in the basic framework are released, what I see are shell games, budget gimmicks that make the real cost of the so-called $1.75 trillion bill estimated to be almost twice that amount, if the full time is run out, if you extended it permanently,” Manchin told reporters Monday afternoon. “And that we haven’t even spoken about. This is a recipe for economic crisis.”
Manchin, who has all along expressed concerns over spending, increasing the debt, and inflation, reiterated those concerns Monday. He took no questions.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on November 01, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
“I will not support the reconciliation legislation without knowing how the bill would impact our debt and our economy and our country,” Manchin said.
Senator Bernie Sanders took a shot at the funding of the bipartisan infrastructure bill later Monday when he told reporters, “The infrastructure bill runs up a $250 billion deficit over a 10-year period. It’s not paid for. The legislation that I want to see passed, which includes lowering the cost of prescription drugs, expanding Medicare, including paid family and medical leave, is paid for in — in its entirety. It will not have an impact on inflation.”
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bipartisan infrastructure bill would add $256 billion to the deficit.
The senator from West Virginia said he’s been working in “good faith” in negotiations on the so-called reconciliation bill and that he’s willing to compromise, accusing his progressive colleagues of taking an “all or nothing” approach.
“While I’ve worked hard to find a path to compromise, it’s obvious: compromise is not good enough for a lot of my colleagues in Congress,” he complained. “It’s all or nothing.”
Within the hour, the White House responded to Manchin’s statement.
“Senator Manchin says he is prepared to support a Build Back Better plan that combats inflation, is fiscally responsible, and will create jobs. The plan the House is finalizing meets those tests—it is fully paid for, will reduce the deficit, and brings down costs for health care, child care, elder care, and housing,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. “Experts agree: Seventeen Nobel Prize-winning economists have said it will reduce inflation. As a result, we remain confident that the plan will gain Senator Manchin’s support.”
Some progressives were angered by Manchin’s statement.
“Joe Manchin’s opposition to the Build Back Better Act is anti-Black, anti-child, anti-woman, and anti-immigrant,” Congresswoman Cori Bush said in a statement. And she said Manchin “does not get to dictate the future of our country.” She called on the Senate “to actually get this done.” But if Manchin and Sinema do not agree to support the social spending bill, it will not become law.
“When I promised St. Louis a historic investment in children, in our seniors, in housing, and in our schools, I said that I would do everything I can to actually deliver change that our community can feel. We cannot spend the next year saying, ‘the House did its part, and now it’s the Senate’s turn.’ We need the Senate to actually get this done.
Still, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was not ready to give up on the prospect of a vote in the next few days. Asked by reporters whether the House would vote this week on the social spending bill, replied briefly, “That is our hope,” and she affirmed her belief that this is a realistic possibility. In response to a question about whether Manchin’s statement Monday changed anything, she denied that it had, telling reporters that lawmakers are “on our course.”
However, the House Rules Committee still has to meet about the Build Back Better framework, and progressives want the House to pass the infrastructure bill along with the reconciliation bill. The House is out of session next week.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal said she wants the House to vote on both bills this week, and she expects every progressive will vote for both.
In-person voting began at 7 a.m. today in the final day to cast ballots in the St. Petersburg general election. Voters will help pick the next mayor for the Sunshine City, as well as several City Council members. And there are several proposed changes to the city charter to weigh in on, too.
Polls will be open until 7 p.m., and voters can also drop off their vote-by-mail ballots until 7 p.m. at the elections office in downtown St. Petersburg at 501 1st Ave. N (or at the other two Supervisor of Elections offices).
As of Monday evening, more than 38,000 city residents had cast their vote-by-mail ballots in what appears to be on track to be far from a high-turnout election.
The Tampa Bay Times will have reporters and photographers at the polls and with candidates. Stay tuned to this live blog for updates.
1:18 p.m.: From surgery straight to the polls
Brytt Mathas was still wearing her hospital visitor tags when she arrived at the First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg. Her husband, Brad, had just gotten out of surgery and been discharged. They drove straight to the polling station to cast their votes.
”We didn’t even go home first,” Brytt Mathas said, “that’s how much we care about voting.”
Both Brytt and Brad Mathas, along with their daughter, Alma Cirkic, said it’s the mayor’s race they care most about. Each threw their support behind Robert Blackmon.
“It’s about getting back to normal American politics,” Brad Mathas said. “I’m tired of radical views and divisiveness. It’s not was I was raised on.”
Cirkic, 20, agreed. She said she’s grown up in a world full of political animosity and tension. She wants peace, and said voting today was a small action she could take to work toward that.
”A lot of people I know my age don’t vote in local elections,” Cirkic said. “I just want to do my part.”
12:46 p.m.: ‘I don’t see them anymore,’ says voter
When David Zachem, 79, moved to St. Petersburg in 1984, he said there were many inspiring, forward-thinking men who were known statewide.
“I don’t see them anymore,” he said, standing outside his polling place, the Pinellas Community Church.
But he thinks Robert Blackmon could be part of a new wave of great leaders, and he cast his vote for Blackmon on Tuesday.
Zachem said he’s known Welch for a long time. But Zachem, who formerly headed the Lakewood Civic Association, said he hasn’t seen enough change in the area below Lake Maggiore.
“Ken has not really done anything for this area,” Zachem said.
Zachem said he also admired Blackmon’s response to the pandemic and support of restaurants and bars. The growth St. Petersburg has had on Central Avenue is vital to the city, he said.
“I just don’t want to see us lose that.”
After retiring in 2014, Linda Morgan, 69, moved from Chicago to St. Petersburg, the city where she always vacationed.
She voted for Welch.
“I like the things he says,” Morgan said, “but they always say the right things around election time.”
Though Morgan can be skeptical of politicians’ motives, she believes with Welch’s track record, he’ll come through on his promises. And if he doesn’t, she said she’ll have no issue voting for someone else. Morgan, who is Black, said it’s not about race but rather the ideals someone upholds.
She said low-income housing is a top priority.
“I’m paying almost $1,000 for a one-bedroom,” Morgan said. “It’s terrible, everything is so expensive.”
John Pacheco, 70, of Gateway, said he cast his vote for Blackmon at First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg. He said he likes the candidate’s energy. Pacheco was a supporter of Mayor Rick Kriseman and said he’s sad to see the current mayor go.
Kerri Cohron, 62, said she also cast her vote this morning for Blackmon.
“He’s young and he’s got progressive thoughts and new ideas,” Cohron said. “I like that he seems bipartisan.”
Additionally, she said she voted no on the charter amendment giving tax exemptions to some businesses.
— Lauren Peace and Romy Ellenbogen
12:19 p.m.: More than 48,000 ballots cast in St. Pete
As of 12:19 p.m., a total of 48,877 ballots have been cast in today’s St. Petersburg municipal general election.
6,842 were in-person Election Day votes. That’s a turnout of 26.42%.
Polls close at 7 p.m. Stay tuned for post-election coverage @TB_Times
St. Petersburg City Council District 8 candidate Richie Floyd walks door to door in the Kenwood neighborhood visiting homes of supporters that had not yet voted on Election Day, Nov. 2, 2021 in St. Petersburg. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Robert Blackmon talks with a voter as he exits from the the polls after voting at Pasadena Community Church, 227 70th St S., on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in St. Petersburg. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]Tom Mullins, City Council District 4 candidate, is pictured at a polling site on Election Day where he rode his bike to drop off a ballot, at Northside Lodge, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in St. Petersburg. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]Mayoral candidate Ken Welch alongside his wife, Donna Welch (left) and daughter, Kenya Welch, 19, have coffee in-between stops on Election Day, at Kahwa coffee shop, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in St. Petersburg. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]Voters arrive at the polls on Election Day at the Coliseum, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in St. Petersburg. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]
11:07 a.m.: Voters explain their mayoral picks
Henry Scantling, 65, voted for Ken Welch at Pinellas Community Church.
As someone who owns his home, Scatling said the rising rent prices in the city don’t affect him, but he’s still concerned for his kids and other family members making minimum wage.
“There’s hardly no place for them that’s affordable,” Scantling said.
He also voted in favor of a proposed charter amendment that would change city council elections, letting only voters in the district boundaries weigh in, instead of those city-wide.
“Change is the magic word,” Scantling said. “I’m tired of things being the same.”
Jodi, who is in her 50s from the Pasadena area, said she’s voting for Blackmon, a business person. Welch, she said, is very qualified but has “special interests that sway toward one area.”
That area? “Making everything equal for people. They’re bucking the systems because we created it,” she said. “We have to change it so people want to get up and do better for themselves.”
On high housing prices, she said, “People work hard to buy property. They don’t buy them and rent them to make everyone equal.”
Dellra Croteau, 42, of Pinellas Point is also voting forBlackmon, “because I feel other the candidates haven’t done anything in the time they’ve had so far.”
Lou Newkirk, 70, waved hello to Welch as the candidate walked around Lake Vista Recreation center before voting for himself. Welch’s father taught Newkirk at Sixteenth Street Middle School.
Newkirk said he and his wife, celebrating their 50th anniversary on Saturday, dropped their mail ballots off — votes for Welch.
“He’s a good man like his dad was,” Newkirk said.
— Romy Ellenbogen and Colleen Wright
10:44 a.m.: Council candidate Shay Lee talks ‘lawlessness’
Bobbie Shay Lee (left) and Copley Gerdes will face-off in an election to represent District 1 on St. Petersburg City Council on Nov. 2. [ Photos provided ]
Bobbie Shay Lee, a candidate for District 1, stood outside the Pinellas Community Church with her ballot already cast. Lee voted early, but started the day by going with her daughter, who turned 18 on Thursday, while she cast her ballot.
A third-generation St. Petersburg resident, Lee said she and her opponent Copley Gerdes are similar on many issues except for public safety and sewage dumping. Since the primary, Lee said the topic of conversation with voters has largely been St. Petersburg’s climbing number of homicides. She said the City Council is meant to ensure public safety, and it has failed.
”The lawlessness,” she said, “is going to affect our ability to attract visitors and keep residents.”
— Romy Ellenbogen
10:38 a.m. Driving across the state to volunteer
St. Petersburg City Council District 8 candidate Richie Floyd walks door to door in the Kenwood neighborhood to visit homes of supporters that have not yet voted on Election Day, Nov. 2, 2021 in St. Petersburg. When someone came to the door Floyd would offer them a campaign flier and make sure they knew where to vote. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]
Lenisha Gibson, a 28-year-old volunteer with Dream Defenders, drove up from her home in Broward County to help volunteer for City Council candidate Richie Floyd. Gibson said she supports Floyd’s push for more social workers and counselors to respond to mental health and homelessness calls, instead of police. She also supports his environmental platform.
Floyd, who is running against former Council member Jeff Danner in District 8, was the only candidate to bring in more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary. If elected, he’d be the youngest person elected to City Council and the first Black Council member elected in a district above Central Avenue.
”It’s something that electrifies and inspires a lot of individuals, even me from Broward County,” Gibson said. “It feels like a movement.”
— Romy Ellenbogen
10:17 a.m.: Blackmon votes, says he’s ‘new blood’
St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Robert Blackmon pumps his fists while he heads into the polls to vote at Pasadena Community Church, 227 70th St S., on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in St. Petersburg. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]
10:10 a.m.: What to watch for today in elections nationwide
Virginia is deciding a governor’s race that could rattle President Joe Biden. In Minneapolis, shaken by George Floyd’s murder, the future of the police department is on the line. School board races across the country have become the new battlegrounds for partisan debates over race.
Tammye K. Moore stands at the corner of 54th Avenue S and 31st Street S in St. Petersburg on Nov. 2, 2021. Moore has held a sign at this corner on Election Day for the past several years. [ COLLEEN WRIGHT | Times ]
Every weekday morning for the three weeks leading up to every Election Day for the past several years, in the rain or in the sticky morning dew, Tammye K. Moore stands on the corner of 31st Street S and 54th Avenue S with her sign.
On one side it reads, “Pay attention. Vote. Every election. It matters.” On the other, “Don’t just make noise. Make a difference.” VOTE and NOISE are in bright green letters.
“I want them to get engaged,” said Moore, 59.
She recognizes the cars, from the vintage red hot rod to the family SUV to the work trucks. And they recognize her around town as the Lady on the Corner.
Moore, a St. Petersburg native, has been involved in politics since she was 14, when her mother worked on Jimmy Carter’s campaign. In 2000, she won a national essay contest about how she was driving the vote in her community and got to meet Earvin “Magic” Johnson. She’s also met Jada Pinkett Smith, Al Sharpton, Maxine Waters and Jesse Jackson.
She’s worked on campaigns too, for Rick Baker and Charlie Crist.
But after decades of door knocking, Moore can no longer do those long walks. So she picked this corner by her home near the Sunshine Skyway bridge, right next to the Interstate 275 on-ramp.
“Many people walked so I can vote,” she said. “If I can’t walk anymore, at least I can stand. This is the contribution I could make.”
She gets honks and thumbs up. A woman once brought her flowers during the primary election. When her nieces and nephews lived in town, they’d stand on the corner too.
Moore usually leaves the corner open for the politicians on Election Day, but City Council District 1 candidate Copley Gerdes asked last week if he could share the corner with her and wave his signs.
Moore agreed, but only if he came on Election Day. On Tuesday, he did.
“She’s worked harder than most candidates,” Gerdes said.
City Council District 1 candidate Copley Gerdes, left, and Tammye K. Moore hold signs on 54th Avenue S Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in St. Petersburg. [ COLLEEN WRIGHT | Times ]
Moore thinks Gerdes played his cards right and could be mayor one day. She says politicians have to pivot from campaigning in churches and getting lost in the clicks on social media. The key is “talking to people early and often. Repeat. Repeat.”
“It’s up to the politicians to win them over,” she said “I want them to vote.”
“But don’t get it twisted,” she continued. “I’m a Democrat.”
— Colleen Wright
7:19 a.m.: Candidate Welch among early voters
244 voters cast Election Day ballots in the first 10 minutes!
— Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections (@VotePinellas) November 2, 2021
People arrive at the polling station on Election Day at Lake Vista Recreation Center, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in St. Petersburg. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]Polls open on Election Day at Lake Vista Recreation Center, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in St. Petersburg. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]Mayoral candidate Ken Welch places a sticker on his jacket after voting on Election Day at Lake Vista Recreation Center, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in St. Petersburg. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]A voter arrives with a ballot on Election Day at Lake Vista Recreation Center, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in St. Petersburg. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]A man raises the flag on Election Day at Lake Vista Recreation Center, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in St. Petersburg. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]
The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse trial began on Tuesday in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where the 18-year-old is charged with killing two people and wounding one during unrest in the city last August.
Prosecutors said that although “hundreds” of people were out on the street during protests over the shooting of a Black man by a white police officer, Rittenhouse was “the only person who killed anyone”.
Rittenhouse is charged with two counts of homicide, one of attempted homicide and two of recklessly endangering safety for firing his weapon near others. He is also charged with possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor, as he was 17 at the time. He has pleaded not guilty.
In August last year, Rittenhouse traveled from his home in Antioch, Illinois, armed with an AR-15-style rifle and in response to a Kenosha-based militia calling for protection for businesses against protesters supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
Rittenhouse is white, as were the two men who died and as is the one who was wounded. Nonetheless, the case has drawn attention from both sides of the political divide over policing and racial injustice.
On Monday, 12 jurors and eight alternates were selected in an all-day session. The highly contentious trial, which is expected to last approximately two weeks, will determine whether Rittenhouse acted in self-defense or in an intentional act of vigilantism.
The judge, Bruce Shroeder, said he would decide at the end of the trial which jurors were alternates and which would deliberate.
“There is no magical way for you to evaluate the testimony,” he said on Tuesday. “Instead, you should use your common sense and your experiences in life.”
Rittenhouse looked on, dressed in suit and tie and yawning repeatedly.
Shroeder said the state must prove by evidence three elements of Rittenhouse’s homicide charges: that the defendant caused the death of another, that the defendant caused the death by criminally reckless conduct, and that the defendant’s conduct showed utter disregard for human life.
“You cannot look into a person’s mind to determine intent, which must be found, if it is to be found at all,” Schroeder said, adding: “Intent should not be confused with motive.”
In his opening statement, Kenosha county assistant district attorney Thomas Binger portrayed Rittenhouse as an antagonist who chose to exacerbate tensions.
“Like moths to a flame, tourists from outside our community were drawn to the chaos here in Kenosha,” said Binger. “People from outside Kenosha came in and contributed to that chaos.
“The evidence will show that hundreds of people were out on the street experiencing chaos and violence, and the only person who killed anyone was the defendant, Kyle Rittenhouse.”
Binger added: “When we consider the reasonableness of the defendant’s actions, I ask you to keep that in mind. We’re not asking you to solve a mystery in this case.”
Rittenhouse’s lead lawyer, Mark Richards, argued that Rittenhouse had close ties to Kenosha as his father lived in the city and he had worked as a lifeguard at a local YMCA.
“Mr Binger makes a big thing out of Kyle Rittenhouse as the only person who shot somebody that evening,” Richards said. “True. Mr Rittenhouse was the only person who was chased by Joseph Rosenbaum that evening.”
Rosenbaum was one of the men fatally shot by Rittenhouse, who he chased across a parking lot and at whom he threw a plastic bag.
“The government can refer to [Rittenhouse] all they wish as an active shooter,” Richards said. “The only person he had shot was Joseph Rosenbuam, who had made threats to kill.
“… Kyle Rittenhouse protected himself, protected his firearm so it couldn’t be taken and used against him or other people from Mr Rosenbaum, who made threats to kill.”
Richards also said “other individuals who didn’t see that shooting attacked [Rittenhouse] in the street like an animal”.
Aerial view of illegal deforestation at the Natural National Park in La Macarena, Meta Department, Colombia, in 2020.
Raul Arboleda /AFP via Getty Images
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Raul Arboleda /AFP via Getty Images
Aerial view of illegal deforestation at the Natural National Park in La Macarena, Meta Department, Colombia, in 2020.
Raul Arboleda /AFP via Getty Images
Brazil, home to the Amazon rainforest, is among at least 105 countries pledging to reverse deforestation as part of an agreement signed at a major international climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
The agreement aims to conserve and accelerate restoration of forests and to significantly increase finance and investment to promote sustainable forest management, conservation and support for Indigenous and local communities.
Politicians praised the deal, but it met with less enthusiasm from activist groups.
President Biden, who is attending the summit known as COP26, said the plan will “help the world deliver on our shared goal of halting natural forest loss.”
He said it would restore 200 million hectares (nearly 500 million acres) of forest and other ecosystems by 2030. “We’re going to work to ensure markets recognize the true economic value of natural carbon sinks and motivate governments, landowners and stakeholders to prioritize conservation,” Biden said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in a tweet, called it “landmark action.”
“We have a chance to end humanity’s long history as nature’s conqueror, and become its custodian.”
The declaration adds about $19 billion in public and private funds. Some $1.7 billion of that has been pledged by the U.S., United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and 17 other private funders, such as the Ford Foundation and foundations run by billionaires Jeff Bezos and Mike Bloomberg, to fund “activities to secure, strengthen and protect Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ land and resource rights,” according to The Associated Press.
A spokesperson for the Ford Foundation told the AP that the governments are providing approximately $1 billion and the rest will come from the private funders.
The deal expands a similar 2014 commitment made by 40 countries that experts have said did little to address the problem, and the latest agreement got a skeptical reception from climate activists.
Jakob Kronik, director for international cooperation at Denmark-based Forests of the World, called the declaration “a very positive announcement” but also cautioned, “The pledge should be for 2025, not 2030. Action now is urgent and necessary.”
Souparna Lahiri of the Global Forest Coalition said the agreement “is one of those oft repeated attempts to make us believe that deforestation can be stopped and forest can be conserved by pushing billions of dollars into the land and territories of the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.”
The forests absorb roughly a third of carbon dioxide emissions, according to the nonprofit World Resources Institute, which says that in 2020, the world lost 100,000 square miles of forest — an area larger than the United Kingdom.
The three largest rainforests in the world are located in the Amazon, Congo River basin and Southeast Asia. They have historically acted as “carbon sinks,” absorbing more carbon dioxide than they produce.
However, research published earlier this year suggests that forests spanning Southeast Asia have become a net carbon emitter “due to clearing for plantations, uncontrolled fires and drainage of peat soils,” while the Amazon is on the cusp of following suit if rapid deforestation there isn’t quickly reversed.
GOP pollster and strategist Frank Luntz predicted Tuesday that Republican Glenn Youngkin is likely to defeat Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s close gubernatorial race, setting up a shaky midterm season for President Joe Biden and his party next year.
On CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Luntz said, “There’s about an 80% chance that the Republican nominee beats Terry McAuliffe,” who served as Virginia governor from 2014 to 2018. Youngkin is a former CEO of private equity giant The Carlyle Group.
“The Democrat is the incumbent and it looks like the incumbent is going to lose,” Luntz added. Democrat Ralph Northam, the current governor of Virginia, can’t run for reelection because governors can’t serve more than one term in a row in the commonwealth.
Pollsters and politicians look to Virginia as a predictor of the midterms, when control of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate are up for grabs.
“There have been four times when the party that’s been on the outs has won the House from the incumbents, four times in the last 50 years,” Luntz said. “Every one of those four times, 100% Virginia has predicted the outcome, which is why everybody’s watching it so closely.”
Democrats hold slim majorities in both chambers of Congress.
Luntz said Biden’s favorability ratings are falling fast in Virginia, but they’re not as low as former President Donald Trump‘s numbers. The pollster said this race is not necessarily a referendum on Biden or Trump.
Biden and former President Barack Obama have campaigned for McAuliffe. By contrast, Youngkin has eschewed virtually all public campaign visits from well-known Republicans, including Trump. Neither tack has really moved the needle.
With Virginia leaning Democratic by only about 3%, according to Luntz, the result could boil down to turnout. Early voting numbers in the commonwealth hit record highs ahead of Election Day on Tuesday. Roughly a fifth of Virginia’s 5.9 million electorate cast early ballots, nearly six times more than in 2017.
If Republicans win, the Democrats can use the loss as an argument against policies pushed by their progressive colleagues, according to Luntz. Biden’s spending bills could still pass, but at a smaller price tag than progressives want, he added.
Despite Tuesday’s results or the 2022 midterms, Luntz said in the “Squawk Box” interview, “If you’re watching this show, odds are you’re going to pay more taxes in 12 months.”
“It’s not going to be confiscatory,” Luntz said. “There’s not going to be this destruction of estates and savings and small businesses if Republicans win in Virginia, but there’s still going to be a tax increase.”
Americans can still expect an infrastructure package and social spending programs, he added. “But it won’t be as extreme as it would have been.”
Former President Donald Trump slammed President Joe Biden after a video appeared to show the president briefly dozing off during the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday. Trump is pictured during a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on October 9, 2021. Scott Olson/Getty
Former President Donald Trump accused President Joe Biden of not caring about “the Global Warming Hoax” after a video appeared to show the president nodding off during a United Nations climate change summit on Monday.
Trump issued a statement blasting Biden shortly after video emerged that appeared to show the president closing his eyes for a total of around 30 seconds while watching the summit, also known as COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland. The former president insisted that Biden “fell asleep” because he could not bear to hear more about global warming. Trump also took the opportunity to mention a series of other grievances that he has claimed are hoaxes.
“Even Biden couldn’t stand hearing so much about the Global Warming Hoax, the 7th biggest Hoax in America, followed closely behind by the 2020 Presidential Election Scam, Russia, Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2 and, of course, the ‘No Collusion’ finding of the Mueller Report,” Trump said.
“Biden went to Europe saying Global Warming is his highest priority, and then promptly fell asleep, for all the world to see, at the Conference itself,” he added. “Nobody that has true enthusiasm and belief in a subject will ever fall asleep!”
In video recorded at the conference, Biden can be seen sitting in the audience and clearly closing his eyes for seven seconds before opening them briefly and closing them again. His eyes stay closed for another 22 seconds and open again when a staffer approaches him and appears to speak. It is not clear whether he actually fell asleep at any point.
Biden also spoke at the summit and slammed Trump’s leadership, apologizing for “the last administration” putting efforts to combat climate change “behind the eight ball a little bit” by pulling out of the Paris climate accord. The president vowed that his administration would take a different approach and not “condemn future generations to suffering.”
Scientists with climate expertise nearly uniformly disagree with Trump’s evidence-free assertion that global warming is a hoax. In fact, as evidence for climate change has mounted and extreme weather events have become more commonplace over the years, the scientific consensus has only strengthened.
Although there was some significant disagreement on the issue decades ago, a study published last month found that well over 99 percent of climate scientists agree that global warming is a reality and is caused by the activity of humans, while a study published in 2019 put the figure at 100 percent.
Trump’s loss in the 2020 election was also genuine, despite the ex-president’s repeated false claims that he “won in a landslide.” Biden defeated Trump by over 7 million votes nationally and by 74 votes in the crucial Electoral College, with no evidence of any massive fraud that would have changed the outcome having been publicly presented at any point.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment.
It’s Election Day. Do you know who and what is is on your ballot?
If not, there is still time to review the candidates and ballot proposals up for a decision in your part of Michigan. Across the state, voters will weigh in on municipal elections, tax proposals and more.
Voters can check their voter registration status and find other information about voting online at www.mi.gov/vote.
Find your area in the list below to learn more about what is on local ballots, as Michigan voters head out to cast their ballots Tuesday, Nov. 2:
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Absentee ballots, too, will be accepted until 8 p.m. Tuesday at your local clerk’s office or a local ballot drop box.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — More than 100 countries pledged Tuesday to end deforestation in the coming decade — a promise that experts say would be critical to limiting climate change but one that has been made and broken before.
Britain hailed the commitment as the first big achievement of the U.N. climate conference known as COP26 taking place this month in the Scottish city of Glasgow. But campaigners say they need to see the details to understand its full impact.
The U.K. government said it has received commitments from leaders representing more than 85% of the world’s forests to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. Among them are several countries with massive forests, including Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Indonesia, Russia and the United States.
More than $19 billion in public and private funds have been pledged toward the plan.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that “with today’s unprecedented pledges, we will have a chance to end humanity’s long history as nature’s conqueror, and instead become its custodian.”
Forests are important ecosystems and provide a critical way of absorbing carbon dioxide — the main greenhouse gas — from the atmosphere. Trees are one of the world’s major so-called carbon sinks, or places where carbon is stored.
But the value of wood as a commodity and the growing demand for agricultural and pastoral land are leading to widespread and often illegal felling of forests, particularly in developing countries.
“We are delighted to see Indigenous Peoples mentioned in the forest deal announced today,” said Joseph Itongwa Mukumo, an Indigenous Walikale and activist from Congo.
He called for governments and businesses to recognize the effective role Indigenous communities play in preventing deforestation.
Experts cautioned that similar agreements in the past have failed to be effective.
Alison Hoare, a senior research fellow at political think tank Chatham House, said world leaders promised in 2014 to end deforestation by 2030, “but since then deforestation has accelerated across many countries.”
Still, Luciana Tellez Chavez, an environmental researcher at Human Right Watch, said the agreement contains “quite a lot of really positive elements.”
The EU, Britain and the U.S. are making progress on restricting imports of goods linked to deforestation and human rights abuses “and it’s really interesting to see China and Brazil signing up to a statement that suggest that’s a goal,” she said.
But she noted that Brazil’s public statements don’t yet line up with its domestic policies and warned that the deal could be used by some countries to “greenwash” their image.
The Brazilian government has been eager to project itself as a responsible environmental steward in the wake of surging deforestation and fires in the Amazon rainforest and Pantanal wetlands that sparked global outrage and threats of divestment in recent years. But critics cautioned that its promises should be viewed with skepticism, and the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, is an outspoken proponent of developing the Amazon.
About 130 world leaders are in Glasgow for what host Britain says is the last realistic chance to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels — the goal the world set in Paris six years ago.
Increased warming over coming decades would melt much of the planet’s ice, raise global sea levels and greatly increase the likelihood and intensity of extreme weather, scientists say.
On Monday, the leaders heard stark warnings from officials and activists alike about those dangers. Britain’s Johnson described global warming as “a doomsday device.” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said that humans are “digging our own graves.” And Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, warned leaders not to “allow the path of greed and selfishness to sow the seeds of our common destruction.”
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II urged the leaders “to rise above the politics of the moment, and achieve true statesmanship.”
“We are doing this not for ourselves but for our children and our children’s children, and those who will follow in their footsteps,” she said in a video message played at a Monday evening reception in the Kelvingrove museum.
The 95-year-old monarch had planned to attend the meeting, but she had to cancel the trip after doctors said she should rest and not travel.
The British government said Monday it saw positive signs that world leaders understood the gravity of the situation. On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden was due to present his administration’s plan to reduce methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming. The announcement was part of a broader effort with the European Union and other nations to reduce overall methane emissions worldwide by 30% by 2030.
But campaigners say the world’s biggest carbon emitters need to do much more. Earth has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit). Current projections based on planned emissions cuts over the next decade are for it to hit 2.7C (4.9F) by the year 2100.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg told a rally outside the high-security climate venue that the talk inside was just “ blah blah blah” and would achieve little.
“Change is not going to come from inside there,” she told some of the thousands of protesters who have come to Glasgow to make their voices heard. “That is not leadership, this is leadership.”
At least 25 people were killed and more than a dozen were wounded during an attack on a military hospital in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Tuesday, according to local officials, with gunfire and explosions echoing throughout the city into the afternoon.
The attack, which included armed gunmen and at least one suicide bomber, targeted the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan military hospital in one of Kabul’s more affluent neighborhoods, where both wounded soldiers who fought for the former government and Taliban fighters were being treated.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said the attack was carried out by several members of the Islamic State, including a suicide bomber who detonated his explosives at the gate to the hospital. A car full of explosives outside the hospital also exploded, wounding dozens, and several Taliban fighters were killed and wounded in the ensuing gun battle, Mr. Mujahid said.
One doctor at the hospital, who declined to be named out of fear for his safety, said that the gunmen had entered a ward filled with wounded Taliban fighters and shot them in their beds.
Uniformed Firefighters Association president Andrew Ansbro discusses the staffing shortages New York fire departments face over vaccine mandates.
Thousands of New York City police officers, firefighters and other municipal workers have been placed on unpaid leave Monday for failing to comply with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s coronavirus vaccine mandate. Andrew Ansbro, the head of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, talked about the issue Monday night on “The Ingraham Angle.”
ANDREW ANSBRO: “When you tell someone they have nine days, nine days to make the decision on vaccination or lose their job, they don’t want to work with you. Teachers were given over a month, corrections doesn’t have to make this decision until December 1. So once again, the mayor is showing that people that care for criminals have more rights than people that care for the average New Yorker. Now I would just like to go back to the notion that 2,300 firefighters have gone out sick over this. The department doesn’t share their numbers with us, but the commissioner of the department actually said today that he believes there’s a sickout and it’s vaccine-related. And the vast majority of the firefighters that are out sick are unvaccinated. You can’t claim that the unvaccinated firefighters are causing a staffing shortage because this morning you were sending them home. So they wouldn’t have been working either way. Now, it’s no secret that New York City firefighters love their jobs, they continue to work hurt. And when those firefighters we believe were faced with the possibility of losing their jobs, they wanted to document those injuries before they went out the door. He’s also not taking into account, those numbers are skewed by the fact that we have firefighters that are always sick and injured from firefighter-related duties even before that. Before this vaccine mandate started we had 16 firefighters out on medical leave, firefighting-related medical leave, for every one firefighter out on COVID leave. One-half of 1% of the fire department is out with COVID.”
Abortion-rights activists hold signs outside the Supreme Court on Oct. 4.
Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Abortion-rights activists hold signs outside the Supreme Court on Oct. 4.
Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In 1992, an estimated half a million people gathered on the National Mall for a rally for abortion rights.
The speakers made many of the same arguments that abortion-rights advocates have made for decades, arguing that government shouldn’t limit people’s ability to make decisions about their own bodies.
But in nearly four hours of speeches, no one stepped up to the mic and said, “I have had an abortion.”
In fact, some of the arguments would likely come across as timid to today’s abortion-rights activists.
“Nobody likes abortion. Let’s get that straight,” said Ron Silver, the now-deceased actor and founder of the Creative Coalition, to the massive crowd in 1992. “Nobody here likes it. We all believe it’s right that women have the choice, and we all believe it would be better if they did not have to make the choice.”
In contrast, unapologetically telling personal abortion stories was a centerpiece of the Rally for Abortion Justice in Washington, D.C., last month. One woman, who simply went by Anna, described the process of getting an abortion in her home state of Texas as a teenager.
”I had to prove to the judge that I was a good student and mature enough to have an abortion,” she said. “Do you know what I wanted to say to the judge? ‘I am not a baby-making machine, and I should be able to decide if and when I become pregnant.’ “
Kenya Martin from the National Network of Abortion Funds encouraged people to be unapologetic about their abortions.
“It’s OK to have abortions after some hot sex simply because you don’t want to be pregnant,” she said. “I just didn’t want to be pregnant, and I want you to know that if that’s your experience, that’s OK too. Your story deserves to be heard.”
Abortion is more common than many people think
Telling personal abortion stories has increasingly become central to the abortion-rights movement in recent years.
There’s a number of reasons why advocates believe this strategy might work. One is the hope that telling stories will normalize the procedure, making Americans more sympathetic.
There is evidence that many Americans underestimate how common abortion is. According to a 2016 Vox poll, for example, around half of Americans surveyed believed that fewer than 20% of American women will have an abortion in their lifetimes.
In fact, just under 1 in 4 women will have an abortion before age 45, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.
America’s trend toward greater partisan sorting also plays a role in changing abortion politics. Democrats who identify as “pro-life” and Republicans who identify as “pro-choice” have grown rarer.
That has opened the door to more people unapologetically sharing their abortion experiences, according to Ziad Munson, a sociology professor at Lehigh University and author of the book Abortion Politics.
“The abortion issue has become so important in identifying partisanship in this country,” he said. “The pro-choice movement’s no longer thinking about the broader public in the same way because they’re not trying to reach everyone. They’re trying to reach their people, by which they think of that as Democrats.”
That’s reflected not only in an increased willingness to be unapologetic about having abortions, but also in the politics of abortion rights. The 1990s-era Democratic slogan “safe, legal and rare” is now deeply controversial, and many abortion-rights activists consider it inherently stigmatizing.
In fact, when people like former Planned Parenthood president Leana Wen and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard said they wanted abortion to be “safe, legal and rare,” they were met with backlash.
In other words, belief in “safe, legal and rare” has not entirely disappeared; rather, the group of people who believe that it is an either ineffective or outright-harmful strategy has grown — and grown louder.
Public opinion supports abortion rights, but not without limits
While the rhetoric and political strategies around abortion have changed over time, Americans’ broad views have been remarkably stable. Most Americans do not have absolutist views on the topic.
For decades, a plurality of Americans have said they believe abortion should be legal in some circumstances, according to Gallup. Today, another one-third say it should always be legal, and around one-fifth say it should always be illegal.
Within the movement opposing abortion rights, storytelling has long been a strategy — specifically, stories of regret. Activist Abby Johnson spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention about her journey from Planned Parenthood staffer to abortion-rights opponent.
“The tipping point came … when a physician asked me to assist with an ultrasound-guided abortion,” she said. “Nothing prepared me for what I saw on the screen.”
Abortion experiences are being heard in the halls of power
Telling more abortion stories isn’t just happening on stages at abortion-rights rallies. Increasingly, people with powerful megaphones have been sharing their experiences of having abortions.
When then-NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue talked about her abortion from the stage at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, it made headlines.
“It was a pretty big deal, which, in retrospect, one of the two most powerful figures in the abortion-rights movement disclosing that she’s had an abortion — that shouldn’t be a huge deal, right?” said Amelia Bonow, founder of the abortion-rights organization Shout Your Abortion. “But it was. Objectively, it was just a thing that people weren’t used to hearing from folks in power.”
After Texas’ near-total ban on abortions went into effect in September, three Democratic members of Congress shared their abortion stories at a congressional hearing. One of them was Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., who shared her story on a national stage for the first time.
“Choosing to have an abortion was the hardest decision I had ever made,” Bush said. “But at 18 years old, I knew it was the right decision for me. It was freeing, knowing I had options.”
The push to destigmatize abortion is intertwined with issues of race and class, as lower-income, Black and Latinx patients are disproportionately likely to undergo an abortion.
“Hearing from those communities that are affected — folks that are low income, Black and Indigenous and other folks of color — is very important because they face different barriers to access and care than some other individuals might,” said Kamyon Conner, executive director of the TEA Fund, a Texas-based abortion fund.
The push to tell stories and destigmatize abortion has made it to the Supreme Court, which this week heard arguments over Texas’ near-total ban on abortions. More than 6,600 people who have had abortions signed an amicus brief in a Mississippi abortion case that the court is set to hear on Dec. 1.
“My mother has never shared her abortion story publicly and never signed anything that I have asked her to sign over the years,” said Renee Bracey Sherman, executive director of We Testify, which helped compile that document. “But when it came to this brief, she was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll sign it.’ And I asked her why, and she said, ‘Because I’m just fed up.’ “
COP26, a two-week United Nations-led summit on climate change, could shape how — and whether — the world effectively slows climate change in the years ahead. Here’s what you need to know.
Tuntiak Katan, the general coordinator of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities and a member of the Shuar people in Amazonian Ecuador, praised the support for Indigenous and local communities but questioned throwing money at a system he sees as broken.
“If this financing doesn’t work directly, and shoulder to shoulder, with Indigenous peoples, it’s not going to have the necessary impact,” he said.
China is one of the biggest signatories to the deforest declaration, but the country’s top leader, Xi Jinping, did not attend the climate negotiations in Glasgow. China suffered heavy forest losses as its population and industry grew over the past decades, but more recently, it has pledged to regrow forests and to expand sustainable tree farming.
By China’s estimate, forests now cover about 23 percent of its landmass, up from 17 percent in 1990, according to the World Bank. Though some research has questioned the scale and the quality of that expanded tree cover, the government has made expanded reforestation a pillar of its climate policies, and many areas of the country are notably greener than they were a couple of decades ago.
Still, China’s participation in the new pledge may also test its dependence on timber imported from Russia, Southeast Asia and African countries, including large amounts of illegally felled trees.
In a written message to the Glasgow meeting, Mr. Xi “stressed the responsibility of developed countries in tackling climate change, saying that they should not only do more themselves, but should also provide support to help developing countries do better,” Xinhua news agency reported.
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