Good morning.
The murder case against Kyle Rittenhouse was thrown into jeopardy Wednesday when his lawyers asked for a mistrial over what appeared to be out-of-bounds questions asked of Rittenhouse by the chief prosecutor.
Rittenhouse is on trial on charges of killing two men and injuring a third during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year after a local Black man was shot by a white police officer. The startling turn came after Rittenhouse took the stand and testified that he was under attack when he shot the three men.
“I defended myself,” the 18-year-old said. During cross-examination, the prosecutor Thomas Binger asked Rittenhouse whether it was appropriate to use deadly force to protect property. Binger also posed questions about Rittenhouse’s silence after his arrest.
At that, the jury was ushered out of the room, and the circuit judge Bruce Schroeder loudly and angrily accused Binger of pursuing an improper line of questioning and trying to introduce testimony that the judge earlier said he was inclined to prohibit.
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What did the defense ask for? A mistrial with prejudice, meaning that if one is granted, Rittenhouse cannot be retried over the shootings.
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Will there be a mistrial? The judge did not immediately rule on the request and is allowing the trial to continue.
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What did Binger say? He told the judge he had been acting in good faith, but the judge replied: “I don’t believe that.”
China and the US announce plan to work together on cutting emissions
An unexpected agreement between the US and China to work together on cutting emissions has been broadly welcomed by leaders and climate experts.
The world’s two biggest emitters appeared to put aside their differences at the Cop26 climate summit and on Wednesday unveiled a joint declaration that would bring close cooperation on emissions cuts that scientists say are needed in the next 10 years to keep global temperatures within 1.5C of pre-industrial levels.
The agreement calls for “concrete and pragmatic” regulations in decarbonisation, reducing methane emissions and fighting deforestation, the Chinese climate envoy, Xie Zhenhua, said in Glasgow.
The two countries will revive a working group that will “meet regularly to address the climate crisis and advance the multilateral process, focusing on enhancing concrete actions in this decade”, the joint declaration said.
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Was the move welcomed? It was broadly welcomed by global leaders and climate experts, with the UN secretary general, António Guterres, calling the move “an important step in the right direction”.
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Is this the first pact between US-China on climate? No, there was a bilateral agreement in 2014 which gave momentum to the historic Paris accord the following year, but that cooperation stopped with the Trump administration.
Republicans who voted for Biden’s infrastructure bill threatened with retaliation
A group of congressional Republicans who helped pass the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill last Friday are facing calls for political punishment by their own party, including the threat of having their committee assignments stripped for supporting the president’s agenda, according to reports this week.
Several hardline Republicans, including the Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert and former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, have publicly urged retaliation against party colleagues who voted for the $1tn bill.
Some members who were among the GOP rank and file who helped the bill pass the House say they have received death threats.
Many of the Republicans who backed the bipartisan bill have ranking positions on full committees or subcommittees, including the homeland security committee and the natural resources committee.
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Would the bill have gone through without the Republicans? No – the bill, which passed 228 to 206, would have failed if no Republicans voted for it in the House late last Friday.
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Is this a sign of trouble in the Republican party? Certain GOP divides in Washington have grown in recent weeks , especially in relation to the bipartisan committee investigating the Capitol insurrection of 6 January.
‘We’ve made history’: Flint water crisis victims to receive $626m settlement
A federal judge has approved a $626m settlement for victims of the lead water crisis in Flint, Michigan, which was one of the country’s worst public health crises in recent memory, in a case brought by tens of thousands of residents affected by the contaminated water.
Announcing the settlement on Tuesday, district judge Judith Levy called it a “remarkable achievement” that “sets forth a comprehensive compensation program and timeline that is consistent for every qualifying participant”.
Most of the money will come from the state of Michigan, which was accused of repeatedly overlooking the risks of using the Flint River without properly treating the water.
“This is a historic and momentous day for the residents of Flint, who will finally begin to see justice served,” said Ted Leopold, one of the lead attorneys in the litigation.
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What happened to the water in Flint? The city’s troubles began in 2014 after it switched its water supply to the Flint River to cut costs. Corrosive river water caused lead to leach from pipes, contaminating the drinking water and causing an outbreak of legionnaires’ disease.
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How will the money be distributed? Payouts from the settlement approved on Wednesday will be made based on a formula that directs more money to younger claimants and to those who can prove greater injury.
In other news …
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One of the men standing trial for killing Ahmaud Arbery said they chased him because they were convinced he was running away from a potential crime and not out jogging, a court heard yesterday. Greg McMichael told police he and two other defendants were convinced Arbery “was getting the hell out of there”.
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A French court has sentenced the killer of an elderly Jewish woman to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for 22 years, in a case that caused an outcry over antisemitism in France. Yacine Mihoub was convicted of the murder of Mireille Knoll, 85 who died on 23 March 2018.
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The head of lighting on the film Rust has filed a lawsuit over Alec Baldwin’s fatal shooting of the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the western, alleging negligence that caused him “severe emotional distress” will haunt him for ever.
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People testing negative for Covid-19 despite exposure may have “immune memory”, scientists have discovered. The study found some individuals clear virus rapidly due to a strong immune response from existing T-cells. This could pave the way for a new generation of vaccines targeting the T-cell response.
Don’t miss this: meet the ‘inactivists’, tangling up the climate crisis in culture wars
In May 2020, as the world was convulsed by the coronavirus pandemic, a strange video began appearing on Facebook. “Climate alarm is reaching untold levels of exaggeration and hysteria,” said an unseen narrator, over a montage of protests and clips of a tearful Greta Thunberg. “There is no doubt about it, climate change has become a cult,” it continued, to the kind of pounding beat you might hear on the soundtrack of a Hollywood blockbuster. The video, one of many, showed that as climate science has gone mainstream, outright denialism has been pushed to the fringes.
… Or this: how the wellness industry turned its back on Covid science
Anti-vaccine or vaccine-hesitant attitudes are as abundant in online wellness circles as pastel-coloured Instagram infographics and asana poses on the beach at sunset. “People are really confused by what is happening,” says Derek Beres, the co-host of Conspirituality, a podcast about the convergence of conspiracy theories and wellness. “Why is their yoga instructor sharing QAnon hashtags?” As wellness gurus increasingly promote vaccine scepticism, conspiracy theories and the myth that ill people have themselves to blame, how did self-care turn so nasty?
Climate check: ‘Our children may not want to be farmers’
Throughout Cop26, the Guardian has been publishing the stories of the people whose lives have been upended – sometimes devastated – by the climate breakdown. From extreme weather obliterating homes to rising sea levels ruining crops, climate breakdown is a terrifying daily reality for many including Manut Boonpayong, who lives in Samut Songkhram province, Thailand. He says: “Farming itself is not hard, but the issues that I am facing are ones that I cannot manage, and which are unpredictable and uncontrollable.”
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Last thing: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gives verdict on Scottish favourite Irn-Bru
Cop26 is not short of controversial subjects, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has demonstrated she is not afraid to get stuck into the big questions: namely, would she like the Scottish fizzy drink Irn-Bru? The bright orange drink has become the surprise curiosity of Cop26. Delegates from all over the world have been sharing their thoughts on its unique taste, with mixed reviews. In an Instagram video of herself trying the drink for the first time, the US congresswoman said: “Oh my God, love it, love it. This tastes just like the Latino soda Kola Champagne.”
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