National News - Page 93

One year after the police killing of a Philadelphia man, the city agrees to equip its force with tasers as part of settlement

By Brynn Gingras, In a settlement between Philadelphia and the family of Walter Wallace, the city says it will provide money for stun guns, such as Tasers, for every patrol officer in the Police Department. The city also says officers will be required to wear the less-lethal weapons, and they will be properly trained as part of a larger police reform program costing the city $13.9 million. Wallace was shot and killed by police while holding a knife on October 26, 2020, just months after the police killing of another Black man, George Floyd, which sparked national debate about police procedures

Supreme Court is flooded with briefs as arguments on Texas abortion law approach

By Ariane de Vogue, The Supreme Court received a flood of legal briefs Wednesday concerning Texas’ six-week abortion ban, which has rendered Roe v. Wade a dead letter in the country’s second largest state, in advance of next week’s oral arguments. The filings come after the court agreed last week to fast-track an appeal from a coalition of abortion providers and lawyers for the Biden administration, who argue that the law is in clear violation of a nearly 50-year-old court precedent and represents the most restrictive ban in the nation. The court’s move to expedite the dispute signals that the justices understand it

Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved’ becomes latest flashpoint in Virginia gubernatorial race

By Dan Merica and Eva McKend, The latest back-and-forth in the race to be Virginia’s next governor is centered on the value of teaching a Toni Morrison novel in commonwealth schools, highlighting Republican Glenn Youngkin‘s attempt to make the culture wars around education the major issue of the race as Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe accuses him of using a “racist dog whistle.” Youngkin released an ad on Monday that features Laura Murphy, a Fairfax County mother and conservative activist, who spearheaded a campaign against “Beloved,” the 1987 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The campaign began after Murphy claimed it gave her son, a high school senior at the time,

Kobe Bryant’s wife learned about the basketball legend’s death from social media posts, testimony shows

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By Andy Rose, Vanessa Bryant, the widow of Kobe Bryant, said she learned about the basketball star’s death when social media notifications began showing up on her phone — hours before she got the official confirmation from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. “I was holding onto my phone, because obviously I was trying to call my husband back, and all these notifications started popping up on my phone, saying ‘RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe,'” Vanessa Bryant said in a deposition on October 12. Bryant, 41, and one of his daughters, Gianna, 13, were among nine people killed when a helicopter crashed into a

FDA vaccine advisers vote to recommend Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11

By Maggie Fox, Vaccine advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted 17-0 with one abstention Tuesday to recommend emergency use authorization of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11. Members of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee agreed the benefits of vaccinating younger children appeared to outweigh the risks, but some members appeared troubled about voting to vaccinate a large population of younger children based on studies of a few thousand. “It is reassuring to me that we are giving a lower dose,” said Dr. Paul Offit, who directs the Vaccine Education Center

Immunocompromised may need a fourth Covid-19 shot, CDC says

By Jen Christensen, People with certain health conditions that make them moderately or severely immunocompromised may get a fourth mRNA Covid-19 shot, according to updated guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC authorized a third dose for certain immunocompromised people 18 and older in August. It said a third dose, rather than a booster — the CDC makes a distinction between the two — was necessary because the immunocompromised may not have had a complete immune response from the first two doses. A study from Johns Hopkins University this summer showed that vaccinated immunocompromised people were 485 times more likely

Alabama governor instructs state agencies to fight federal Covid-19 vaccine mandates

By Rebekah Riess, Devon M. Sayers and Shawna Mizelle, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday signed an executive order directing state executive branch agencies to cooperate with the Alabama attorney general’s office as it challenges the Biden administration’s Covid-19 vaccine mandates and, when possible, to not comply with the federal effort. “I am adamantly opposed to federal mandates related to the Covid-19 vaccine and adamantly opposed to state mandates related to the Covid-19 vaccine, plain and simple,” the Republican governor said in a statement. “As long as I am your governor, the state of Alabama will not force anyone to take a Covid-19 vaccine.”

A Virginia museum wants to melt down Charlottesville’s Robert E. Lee statue and transform it into public art

By Alisha Ebrahimji, An African American historical museum in Virginia is throwing its hat in the mix to turn what was once a daunting reminder of the country’s Confederate past and in recent years, violence, into a public display of art. The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center in Charlottesville has submitted an offer to the City Council for its recently removed Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee statue. Several cities have made moves to remove contentious Confederate statues after becoming the subject of nationwide debate over the years. And it flared up in Charlottesville specifically after white nationalists marched in 2017 to protest the

It’s proving difficult to find a jury in the trial for Ahmaud Arbery’s killing. Potential jurors either know the case well, know the defendants or are scared

By Angela Barajas, Martin Savidge and Christina Maxouris, Finding jurors to sit in the trial for the three men charged in Ahmaud Arbery’s killing is proving difficult in the Glynn County, Georgia, courtroom where jury selection began this week. Hundreds of people have been summoned, and from the 60 people who have been questioned since last Monday, many said they have already formed strong opinions about the case, know the defendants or are scared to sit. They point to potential consequences specific verdicts may have on the community. One prospective juror said that while she doesn’t know much about the case itself, she has

Man convicted in the murder of Michael Jordan’s father is denied parole

By Rebekah Riess and Amir Vera, One of the men convicted in the murder of James Jordan, father of basketball legend Michael Jordan, was denied parole, according to Greg Thomas, a spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Daniel Green and his co-defendant, Larry Demery, were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in the July 1993 murder of James Jordan. Green’s parole was denied Friday, Thomas said. Thomas did not go into detail as to why the parole was denied. Green’s parole will be reviewed again in 2024, Thomas said. “Daniel Green hasn’t received justice since

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