Jan 17, 2019

3 Chicago officers acquitted of covering up Laquan McDonald's killing

Still image taken from a Chicago Police Department dash-cam video of the October 2014 fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald. Photo: Chicago Police Department via Getty Images

A judge acquitted three Chicago police officers on charges of trying to cover up the 2014 shooting of 17-year-old black teenager Laquan McDonald, which sparked nationwide protests, the AP reports.

Details: Judge Domenica Stephenson ruled that the evidence prosecutors presented, including a now-infamous police dashcam video of the shooting, was weak and that witnesses did not provide sufficient proof that officers Thomas Gaffney, Joseph Walsh and David March attempted to cover up the killing. The ruling comes more than three months after Jason Van Dyke, the officer who shot McDonald 16 times, was found guilty of second-degree murder. He will be sentenced on Friday.

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Axios

9 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Police officer in George Floyd killing arrested

A protester with a sign with George Floyd's last words. Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer involved in the killing of George Floyd, was taken into custody Friday by Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, according to the Star Tribune's Briana Bierschbach.

The state of play: Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said that there was no additional charging information yet, as that decision is in the jurisdiction of the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.

Scott Rosenberg

24 mins ago - Technology

Trump forces fateful choices on Twitter and Facebook

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

President Trump's war with Twitter is confronting social media platforms with a hard dilemma: whether to take fuller responsibility for what people say on their services, or to step back and assume a more quasi-governmental role.

The big picture: Facebook is trying to be more like a government — committing to impartiality and protecting free speech and building mechanisms for arbitration. Twitter, pushed by Trump's inflammatory messages, is opting to more aggressively enforce conduct rules on its private property, like a mall owner enforcing rules inside the gates.

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Axios

Updated 31 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 1 p.m. ET: 5,851,494 — Total deaths: 362,238 — Total recoveries — 2,445,181 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 1 p.m. ET: 1,729,185 — Total deaths: 101,706 — Total recoveries: 399,991 — Total tested: 15,646,041 — Map.
2020: North Carolina asks RNC if convention will honor Trump's wish for no masks or social distancing.
Public health: Hydroxychloroquine prescription fills exploded in March —How the U.S. might distribute a vaccine.
Transportation: National mobility keeps rising as more states reopen economies.
🎧 Podcast: Saying goodbye to U.S. megacities.

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