Updated Dec 5, 2019

Read: George Zimmerman sues Trayvon Martin's family for $100M

George Zimmerman in 2013 in Sanford, Florida. Photo by Joe Burbank-Pool/Getty Images

George Zimmerman filed a $100 million lawsuit Wednesday against the family of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black 17-year-old he fatally shot in 2012 in Miami Gardens, Florida, the Miami Herald first reported.

Why it matters: The neighborhood watch volunteer was acquitted of homicide charges in the high-profile criminal case, which inspired the Black Lives Matter movement in which Martin's parents have been leading voices. Now, Zimmerman is suing them, a law enforcement agency and a publishing firm for malicious prosecution and defamation.

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Editor's note: This article has been updated to include the lawsuit.

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Ursula Perano

Trump brings pardoned soldiers on stage at closed-door fundraiser

Photo: Noam Galai/WireImage

President Trump brought a pair of recently pardoned soldiers who had been facing a sentence and a possible conviction for war crimes on stage at a closed-door fundraiser for Florida's state Republican Party on Saturday, the Miami Herald reports.

What we know: The men Trump bought on stage were Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance and Maj. Mathew Golsteyn — both of whom were pardoned by the president last month. Lorance had been serving a 19-year sentence for ordering his unit to shoot unarmed men in Afghanistan. Golsteyn was set to stand trial for the 2010 extrajudicial killing of a suspected bomb maker.

Go deeperDec 8, 2019

Alexi McCammond

2020 Democrats turn focus to black men

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Democratic candidates have spent the last few weeks hosting intimate conversations with black men — mostly in South Carolina — tapping into how these voters think and feel about the 2020 election.

Why it matters: Black voter turnout declined in 2016 for the first time in 20 years. And 13% of black male voters supported Donald Trump — over three times the rate of black women who did the same.

Go deeperDec 3, 2019

Rebecca Falconer

Sandy Hook lawsuit against gunmaker set to go to trial in 2021

A 2017 vigil for the Sandy Hook masracre victims in Newtown, Connecticut. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A Connecticut judge said Wednesday a wrongful death lawsuit brought by families of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting victims against gunmaker Remington Arms would go to trial in September 2021, the Hartford Courant first reported.

Why it matters: The case is set to test a 2005 law protecting weapons manufacturers from being held accountable for crimes committed by gun buyers. The Supreme Court said last month it wouldn't intervene in the state-level suit.

Go deeper: Supreme Court allows Sandy Hook lawsuit to move forward

Keep ReadingDec 12, 2019