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Parkland prosecutors seek probe of a reported threat to a juror by another juror – NPR
Parkland prosecutors seek probe of a reported threat to a juror by another juror – NPR

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz reacts at his trial in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Thursday.

Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool


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Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz reacts at his trial in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Thursday.

Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Prosecutors in the case of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz are calling for an investigation after a juror said she felt threatened by another member of the jury during deliberations that ended Thursday with a life sentence for Cruz’s murder of 17 people.

The motion calls for law enforcement to interview the unnamed juror after she told the state attorney’s office “she perceived to be a threat from a fellow juror while in the jury room.” No further details were given. A hearing is set for Friday afternoon.

A divided jury spared Cruz the death penalty and instead decided to send him to prison for the rest of his life in a decision that left many families of the victims angered, baffled and in tears. Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty a year ago to murdering 14 students and three staff members, and wounding 17 others, at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018.

Under Florida law, a death sentence requires a unanimous vote on at least one count. The seven-man, five-woman jury unanimously agreed there were aggravating factors to warrant a possible death sentence, such as agreeing that the murders were “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel.”

But one or more jurors also found mitigating factors, such as untreated childhood issues. In the end, the jury could not agree that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating ones, so Cruz will get life without parole. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer will formally issue the life sentences Nov. 1. Relatives, along with the students and teachers Cruz wounded, will be given the opportunity to speak.

The jurors pledged during the selection process that they could vote for a death sentence, but some victims’ parents, some of whom attended the trial almost daily, wondered whether all of them were being honest.

A juror says the deliberations “were very tense”

Juror Denise Cunha sent a short handwritten note to the judge Thursday defending her vote for a life sentence and denying she intended to vote that way before the trial began.

“The deliberations were very tense and some jurors became extremely unhappy once I mentioned that I would vote for life,” Cunha wrote. She did not explain her vote and it is unknown if she is the juror who complained to the state attorney’s office.

Jury foreman Benjamin Thomas told local reporters that three jurors voted for life on the final ballot. Two were willing to reconsider, but one was a “hard no” for the death penalty.

“It really came down to a specific (juror) that he (Cruz) was mentally ill,” Thomas said. He did not say whether that person was Cunha.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2022/10/14/1129072936/parkland-school-shooting-juror-threat-investigation

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March for Life Rally Unfolds with Eye on Supreme Court – The New York Times
March for Life Rally Unfolds with Eye on Supreme Court – The New York Times

Abortion rights supporters argued that the consequences of overturning Roe would be severe and long lasting for women and children.

Diana Greene Foster, the author of the Turnaway Study, which followed about 1,000 women from across the United States over a five-year period — those who had abortions and those who were not able to get them — noted that the women who had to continue their pregnancies often had life-threatening complications and bad health for years. Five years out, women denied an abortion were four times as likely to live below the federal poverty line, and three times as likely to be unemployed. Ninety percent of those women chose to raise the child, she said, and are more likely to stay in contact with an abusive partner.

“People are making careful decisions when they decide to have an abortion,” said Dr. Foster, who is also a professor of obstetrics at the University of California, San Francisco. “They say that they can’t afford a child, and we see they become poorer. They say they need to take care of their existing kids, and their existing children fare worse.”

While the speakers at the rally were optimistic that the court would choose to overturn Roe by this summer, many marchers said they would continue attending future rallies to press for a complete ban across the country.

Doug Winne, 69, and Ruth Winne, 65, had driven two hours from Lancaster, Pa., to this year’s rally. They have attended the March for Life regularly for about 35 years, and Mr. Winne said he was encouraged by the number of younger people in attendance.

Gazing at the crowd around him, Mr. Winne said he was hopeful that younger people would continue to fight to end abortion. “We’re clearly on the older end,” Mr. Winne said. “That’s an encouragement that this isn’t just something that we, as people in their 60s, are concerned about.”

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/21/us/march-for-life-rally.html

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Strikes Hit Russian Border Region, a Key Staging Ground for Troops – The New York Times
Strikes Hit Russian Border Region, a Key Staging Ground for Troops – The New York Times

Several strikes hit the Russian region of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border on Sunday, wounding at least three people, according to local officials, and renewing questions about the security of an area that has been a key supply route for Russian troops in the war.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blasts. Ukrainian officials did not comment, in keeping with an official policy of near-total silence surrounding explosions in Russian territory.

But they appeared to be part of an uptick in attacks in Belgorod, which shares a border with Kharkiv, the northeastern region of Ukraine that Kyiv’s forces retook last month in a rapid offensive that began weeks of setbacks for Russian forces.

Belgorod has served as an important staging ground for Russia’s invasion, and Moscow continues to train soldiers there. On Saturday, two men opened fire on Russian soldiers at a training camp in the region, killing 11 and wounding 15, before being killed themselves, according to state-run news outlets.

Several attacks in recent days have targeted Russian-held areas far from the front lines, including in the occupied city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, where explosions hit an administrative building on Sunday, and most prominently on Russia’s bridge to occupied Crimea, which was damaged by a blast last weekend. Russia blamed Ukraine for the attacks.

On Sunday, some 16 explosions were heard in the Belgorod region, RIA Novosti, a Russian state news agency, reported. At least three people were injured in an artillery strike, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor, said in a statement on Telegram, the social messaging app.

Mr. Gladkov posted photos that showed shattered glass and scattered debris in what appeared to be a residential area. The images could not immediately be verified. Two injured men were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds and one woman was treated on site, Mr. Gladkov said.

A photo posted on the Telegram account of the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region on Friday, showing a power station that he said was hit by Ukrainian shelling.Credit…Vvgladkov/Telegram, via Agence France-Presse-Getty Images

The city of Belgorod, the regional capital, which has a population of 400,000 and lies just 50 miles from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, increasingly finds itself a target in the conflict across the border, undermining President Vladimir V. Putin’s efforts to distance the Russian people from the war. Colleges and businesses have conducted evacuation drills, local officials have evacuated towns and villages that have come under shelling, and thousands of people from Ukraine have crossed the border to flee fighting, especially amid the recent Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Sunday was the fourth successive day that strikes have been reported in the area. On Thursday, a rocket hit an apartment building in Razumnoe, a town southeast of the city of Belgorod, without causing injuries, according to state-run media. The following day, Mr. Gladkov said, a Ukrainian strike hit a power station.

On Saturday, the state-run news agency Tass reported that a fuel depot in Razumnoe was shelled and caught fire. Mr. Gladkov posted a photo to Telegram showing thick black smoke and flames rising over a building.

“We’re getting bombed again,” he wrote.

James C. McKinley Jr. contributed reporting.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/10/16/world/russia-ukraine-war-news

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What David Perdue’s total failure would teach us – CNN
What David Perdue’s total failure would teach us – CNN

(CNN)If the polls are to be believed, former Georgia Sen. David Perdue is headed toward a crushing primary defeat Tuesday in his challenge to GOP Gov. Brian Kemp.

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Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/23/politics/perdue-ga-primary-election-denialism/index.html

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Former FIU president points to ‘emotional entanglement’ with colleague as part of resignation – WPLG Local 10
Former FIU president points to ‘emotional entanglement’ with colleague as part of resignation – WPLG Local 10

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – New details have been revealed regarding why the President of Florida International University stepped down from his role last week.

In a new statement, Mark Rosenberg admitted to an emotional entanglement with someone as part of the reason for his sudden resignation.

Rosenberg still insists personal health issues for he and his wife are why he’s stepping back, but he also wrote the following:

“Regrettably, these issues spilled over to my work and I caused discomfort for a valued colleague. I unintentionally created emotional (not physical) entanglement. I have apologized. I apologize to you. I take full responsibility and regret my actions.”

The 72-year-old had been FIU’s president since 2009 and is credited for boosting the university’s enrollment and graduation rates over the past decade.

Rosenberg claims that mental health issues are at play, writing:

“While we have spent years drawing attention to the impact of mental health challenges, I can give personal testimony to the reality of this menace, I encourage your empathy and action with those who around you who may need additional help and support.”

Kenneth Jessell, the school’s CFO and Senior VP of Finance and Administration is now the interim president.

Also on Sunday, the chair of FIU’s Board of Trustees appeared to acknowledge the seriousness of the incident with a letter to the FIU community that said, in part:

“We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the events requiring his resignation. FIU has strong personnel and workplace conduct policies, takes all workplace conduct seriously, and remains committed to enforcing its policies thoroughly and swiftly.”

Source Article from https://www.local10.com/news/local/2022/01/23/former-fiu-president-points-to-emotional-entanglement-with-colleague-as-part-of-resignation/

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Biden teases forthcoming executive order on AI – CNN
Biden teases forthcoming executive order on AI – CNN
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Israel frustrated U.S. paused weapons shipment over Rafah assault concerns, official says – NBC News
Israel frustrated U.S. paused weapons shipment over Rafah assault concerns, official says – NBC News
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Mother arrested on murder charges after 2 daughters found dead in Lauderhill canal – WPLG Local 10
Mother arrested on murder charges after 2 daughters found dead in Lauderhill canal – WPLG Local 10

LAUDERHILL, Fla. – A 36-year-old woman was arrested Tuesday night in connection with the deaths of her two young daughters, authorities confirmed.

The bodies of Destiny Hogan, 9, and Daysha Hogan, 7, were found on June 22 floating in a canal in Lauderhill.

Their mother, Tinessa Hogan, was arrested around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday on two counts of first-degree murder. She refused to appear in court Wednesday morning, but the judge proceeded without her and ordered that she be held without bond.

Lauderhill police did not immediately say what evidence they gathered that the mother was involved in the girls’ deaths.

Lt. Mike Bigwood identified the two girls who were found dead in a Lauderhill canal as sisters 9-year-old Destiny and 7-year-old Daysha. (Copyright 2020 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.)

According to authorities, Destiny’s body was discovered first on the afternoon of June 22 near the intersection of Northwest 21st Street and 56th Avenue.

Daysha’s body was recovered from the same canal later that evening about a half-mile away.

A woman who lives nearby told Local 10 News that Destiny had marks on her body.

“The way how the little girl looked yesterday with all the scratches on her and … her fists bawled up,” Shakima Birch said. “It just made me cry and I’m like, ‘Was she trying to grab onto something?’ or ‘Was she fighting for her life?’”

Despite the arrest, police say the investigation remains active and they are asking that anyone with information about Tinessa Hogan or her daughters to call the Lauderhill Police Department at 954-497-4700 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

Source Article from https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/07/14/mother-arrested-on-murder-charges-after-2-daughters-found-dead-in-lauderhill-canal/

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Ending college affirmative action could have ripple effect for Black, Latino students – NBC News
Ending college affirmative action could have ripple effect for Black, Latino students – NBC News
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Netanyahu faces Israeli calls for broader strikes against Hezbollah – The Guardian
Netanyahu faces Israeli calls for broader strikes against Hezbollah – The Guardian
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Trump did call fallen soldiers "losers," his former chief of staff says – Axios
Trump did call fallen soldiers "losers," his former chief of staff says – Axios
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MSU shooting suspect dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound – Detroit News
MSU shooting suspect dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound – Detroit News
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Scottie Scheffler arrested before PGA Championship Round 2 – ESPN
Scottie Scheffler arrested before PGA Championship Round 2 – ESPN
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Powerful radars, limited scope: How no one spotted a bunch of ‘objects’ floating in NORAD airspace – NBC News
Powerful radars, limited scope: How no one spotted a bunch of ‘objects’ floating in NORAD airspace – NBC News
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Shifting from campaign promises, Biden announces Cuba sanctions after protest crackdown – USA TODAY
Shifting from campaign promises, Biden announces Cuba sanctions after protest crackdown – USA TODAY

Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/07/22/biden-sanction-cuban-officials-following-attacks-protesters/8054487002/

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Biden Invites Allies to Washington as Fighting Intensifies in Ukraine – The New York Times
Biden Invites Allies to Washington as Fighting Intensifies in Ukraine – The New York Times
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How to watch Tuesday’s Jan. 6 committee hearing focused on extremists at the Capitol – CBS News
How to watch Tuesday’s Jan. 6 committee hearing focused on extremists at the Capitol – CBS News

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will be holding another public hearing on Tuesday, this time focusing on the role of extremists that day.

Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin said Sunday on “Face the Nation” that the upcoming hearing will “continue the story of Donald Trump’s attempt to overthrow the 2020 presidential election.”

CBS News will broadcast the hearing as a Special Report starting at 1 p.m. ET.

Raskin noted on Sunday that the committee has been so far outlining former President Trump’s pressure campaigns on the vice president, the Justice Department, state lawmakers and local elections officials ahead of Congress’ planned certification of the Electoral College on Jan. 6.  Documentary filmmaker Nick Quested, who was embedded with the Proud Boys on Jan. 6, has provided footage from his film to the committee, some of which was shown at the first public hearing on June 9. 

“One of the things that people are going to learn is the fundamental importance of a meeting that took place in the White House” on Dec. 18, Raskin said. 

A video of former President Donald Trump is played as Cassidy Hutchinson, a top former aide to Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, testifies during the sixth hearing by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol in the Cannon House Office Building on June 28, 2022 in Washington, DC.

Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images


“And on that day, the group of outside lawyers who’ve been denominated ‘Team Crazy’ by people in and around the White House, came in to try to urge several new courses of action, including the seizure of voting machines around the country,” Raskin said. “And so, some of the people involved in that were Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani was around for part of that discussion, Michael Flynn was around for that. But against this ‘Team Crazy’ were an inside group of lawyers who essentially wanted the president at that point to acknowledge that he had lost the election, and were far more willing to accept the reality of his defeat at that point.”

Raskin said in the middle of the night on Dec. 19, Trump sent a tweet “after a crazy meeting, one that has been described as the craziest meeting in the entire Trump presidency.”

“Donald Trump sent out the tweet that would be heard around the world, the first time in American history when a president of the United States called a protest against his own government, in fact, to try to stop the counting of electoral college votes in a presidential election he had lost,” Raskin said. “Absolutely unprecedented, nothing like that had ever happened before. So people are going to hear the story of that tweet, and then the explosive effect it had in Trump World and specifically among the domestic violent extremist groups, the most dangerous political extremists in the country. “

Last week, Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone testified before the committee for more than eight hours. Raskin said Cipollone gave “valuable” information to the committee.

“We are going to get to use a lot of Mr. Cipollone’s testimony to corroborate other things we have learned along the way,” Raskin said. “He was the White House counsel at the time. He was aware of every major move I think Donald Trump was making to try to overthrow the 2020 election and essentially seize the presidency.”

The House Jan. 6 committee has held seven public hearings in June and July to showcase the evidence they have gathered during the 11-month investigation. The committee has heard hundreds of hours of testimony, including from some of the core members of Trump’s inner circle. 

In addition to the information on pressure campaigns, the committee has also unveiled new details on the scheme allegedly proposed by Trump allies to put forward phony electors from several battleground states that President Joe Biden won.

On June 28, Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified publicly in a hastily added hearing. Her blockbuster testimony included that Trump was told the crowd at the Ellipse on Jan. 6 had guns and other weapons, and that the former president wanted to join them on the way to the Capitol. She also said she was told that Trump lunged towards a Secret Service agent in a presidential vehicle. 

Hutchinson also testified that Meadows told her in the days leading up to Jan. 6 that, “There’s a lot going on Cass, but I don’t know, things might get real, real bad on Jan. 6.”

This weekend, attorneys for Trump campaign strategist Steve Bannon, who has been charged by the Justice Department for refusing to comply with a subpoena to testify, sent a letter to the committee saying he is willing to testify publicly. 

Bannon has cited executive privilege in his refusal to testify, but Trump sent a letter to Bannon’s lawyers waiving executive privilege. Mr. Biden has rejected Trump’s claims of executive privilege, and that has been upheld by the Supreme Court.

Source Article from https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/january-6-committee-hearing-schedule-july-12-2022/

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Florida hearing in Trump classified documents case devolves into shouting match – CNN
Florida hearing in Trump classified documents case devolves into shouting match – CNN
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Los Angeles under first blizzard warning since 1989 – BBC
Los Angeles under first blizzard warning since 1989 – BBC
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Justice Barrett, again, rejects bid to block Biden’s student debt relief – POLITICO
Justice Barrett, again, rejects bid to block Biden’s student debt relief – POLITICO
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Even a day after Jan. 6, Trump balked at condemning the violence – The Washington Post
Even a day after Jan. 6, Trump balked at condemning the violence – The Washington Post

The Jan. 6 insurrection

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection has held a series of high-profile hearings throughout the summer. Read the latest hearing recap.

Congressional hearings: The House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol has conducted a series of hearings to share its findings with the U.S. public. The sixth hearing featured explosive testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide.

Will there be charges? The committee could make criminal referrals of former president Donald Trump over his role in the attack, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said in an interview.

What we know about what Trump did on Jan. 6: New details emerged when Hutchinson testified before the committee and shared what she saw and heard on Jan. 6.

The riot: On Jan. 6, 2021, a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. Five people died on that day or in the immediate aftermath, and 140 police officers were assaulted.

Inside the siege: During the rampage, rioters came perilously close to penetrating the inner sanctums of the building while lawmakers were still there, including former vice president Mike Pence. The Washington Post examined text messages, photos and videos to create a video timeline of what happened on Jan. 6.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/07/20/even-day-after-jan-6-trump-balked-condemning-violence/

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