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Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Firefighter Says She Was Prevented From Helping Floyd

An off-duty firefighter who was prevented from using her EMT training to help George Floyd as a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes last May was among those who testified on the second day of former officer Derek Chauvin's murder and manslaughter trial Tuesday. Genevieve Hansen cried as she spoke about not being able to help Floyd despite repeatedly pleading to be allowed to, saying, "There was a man being killed. I would have been able to provide medical attention to the best of my abilities. And this human was denied that right."


 Hansen was among several witnesses who testified yesterday about how they kept pleading with Chauvin to remove his knee from Floyd's neck. Among them was 18-year-old Darnella Frazier, who recorded the video that was seen around the world and sparked weeks of nationwide protests. She also was emotional on the stand, saying, "He didn’t care. It seemed as if he didn’t care what we were saying." She said at one point, "I stay up at night apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more . . . not saving his life."


Chauvin's attorney, Eric Nelson, sought to paint the witnesses as being angry and agitated, in an apparent effort to show the onlookers were a potential threat to Chauvin and the three officers with him, and might have distracted them. In further questioning of Donald Williams, a mixed martial artist who'd also testified the day before, Nelson said he'd seemed to get increasingly angry, calling Chauvin "tough guy," bum" and expletives. Williams at first said he was getting angrier, but then said he was controlled and professional and was pleading for Floyd's life. At one point, another officer, Tou Thao, put his hand on Williams' chest, and Williams admitted he told Thao he'd beat the officers if Thao touched him again.

➤POLICE SAY SUSPECT IN VICIOUS NYC ATTACK ON 65-YEAR-OLD ASIAN-AMERICAN WOMAN IN CUSTODY: The New York Police Department told Fox News Wednesday that the man wanted in a brutal beating of an Asian woman in Midtown Manhattan earlier this week has been arrested and charged.

The suspect has been identified as 38-year-old Brandon Elliot. He was arrested at about 2 a.m. and subsequently charged with assault as a hate crime and attempted assault as a hate crime. 

The New York Post, which first reported on the arrest, said Elliot lives in a homeless shelter near where the attack occurred. The beating was brutal and was caught on surveillance video from inside a lobby in Midtown. The Post, citing police, reported that the suspect yelled anti-Asian statements while he beat the woman. Sources told the paper that the assailant yelled, "F—k you, you don’t belong here."

The video appears to show the 65-year-old woman getting kicked in the stomach, which causes her to fall. The assailant proceeds to pummel her while she is on the ground, kicking her in the head and body.

➤REP. GAETZ DENIES SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH 17-YEAR-OLD AFTER PROBE REPORT: Rep. Matt Gaetz denied yesterday that he'd had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl after the New York Times reported the Justice Department was investigating the Florida Republican's possible sexual relationship with the girl and whether he paid for her to travel with him. Gaetz further claimed he was being extorted, saying to CNN that the claims are being pushed by people who are targets of a, quote, "ongoing extortion investigation." 

Gaetz accused a former Justice Department official of being behind what he says is an attempt to extort $25 million from him and his family, and he repeated the claims in a Fox News interview last night in which he also strongly denied the accusations. The Justice Department declined to comment. The Times cited sources as saying the probe is part of a broader investigation, with CNN saying that larger probe is into trafficking allegations against another Florida politician, a former Central Florida county official named Joel Greenberg. He was arrested last year on charges that include sex trafficking of a minor and pled not guilty. The Gaetz probe was reportedly opened in the closing months of the Trump administration.

➤PUBLIC FUNERAL HELD FOR OFFICER KILLED IN BOULDER SUPERMARKET MASS SHOOTING: A public funeral was held in Lafayette, Colorado, yesterday for Officer Eric Talley, who was killed when he responded to the mass shooting last week at a Boulder supermarket in which a total of 10 people died. There was a procession and motorcade before the service for the father of seven, with people gathered along the route to pay their respects. A 21-gun salute took place outside the church.

➤FLORIDA GOVERNOR OPPOSES 'VACCINE PASSPORTS': Amid growing consideration of Americans getting "vaccine passports" to show they've been vaccinated against the coronavirus for things like travel, attending events, and going to other places that will require it, some are speaking up against the idea, particularly those on the political right. 

One of the opponents is Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis who told reporters earlier this week, "It's completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society." He also expressed privacy concerns about large corporations having such vaccine data. DeSantis said he'd issue emergency rules this week barring businesses in Florida from requiring proof of vaccination, and will work with state lawmakers on passing on a permanent ban. The Biden administration has said the federal government won't issue vaccine passports, partly because they realize doing so might lead some Americans not to get vaccinated. White House senior adviser Andy Slavitt said Monday they will instead give guidelines and requirements to the private sector, which it anticipates will come up a range of "solutions."

➤G. GORDON LIDDY, ORGANIZER OF WATERGATE BREAK-IN, DEAD AT 90: G. Gordon Liddy, a former FBI agent and Army veteran who was the organizer of the Watergate break-in, died on Tuesday. He was 90. Liddy was convicted of conspiracy, burglary and illegal wiretapping for his role in the June 1972 Watergate burglary, which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon two years later. Liddy also was convicted of conspiracy in the September 1971 burglary of the office of the psychiatrist of Daniel Ellsberg, the defense analyst who leaked the "Pentagon Papers," which was the secret history of the Vietnam War. Liddy served more than four years in prison, and later became a popular, but controversial radio talk show host.

➤FIRST DOG MAJOR BITES SOMEONE AGAIN: Major, the younger of President Biden's two German shepherds, had another biting incident this week. First Lady Jill Biden's press secretary Michael LaRosa said Tuesday that Major, quote, "nipped someone while on a walk." adding that he's still adjusting to his surroundings. LaRosa said the person was medically evaluated, quote, "out of an abundance of caution," and returned to work without injury. Major and the Bidens' other dog, Champ, had just returned to the White House from Delaware last week, after being sent there after Major caused a minor injury to a Secret Service agent early this month. The president said Major had been undergoing training in Delaware.

➤STUDY...SOCIAL MEDIA LINKED TO CYBERBULLYING:  Social media just gets more and more popular, and a new study finds that spending an increasing number of hours online maybe associated with cyberbullying behaviors. University of Georgia researchers specifically found that being highly addicted to social media, spending more hours online, and identifying as male significantly predicted cyberbullying perpetration in adolescents. Being addicted to social media is associated with some negative consequences such as daytime tiredness, getting poor grades in school, and spending more than seven hours per day online. Lead researcher Amanda Giordano says, “If you think about it, adolescents are not only figuring out who they are offline, but they’re also trying to figure out who they want to be online. We’re giving them even more to do during this development period, including deciding how they want to present themselves online. I think it’s a complex world that we’re asking adolescents to navigate.”


➤VW SAYS NAME CHANGE WAS A JOKE:  One day after it was reported that Volkswagen planned a brand name change in the U.S. to "Voltswagen" for its electric cars, the automaker admitted Tuesday (March 30th) that the whole things was an early April Fool's Day joke. A fake news release about the name change was leaked Monday, and then a fake press release was sent out in a mass email to reporters earlier Tuesday before the company came clean. Volkswagen said in a statement, "The renaming was designed to be an announcement in the spirit of April Fool’s Day." The Associated Press suggested the fake press release could give Volkswagen some trouble with securities regulators, since its stock price rose nearly five percent after it came out. Northwestern University marketing Professor Tim Calkins told AP that while April Fool's jokes are common in marketing, it's rare for a company to deliberately mislead reporters.

🏀UCLA UPSETS MICHIGAN TO REACH FINAL FOUR IN NCAA TOURNAMENT, GONZAGA ADVANCES: UCLA upset top-seeded Michigan 51-49 last night to become only the fifth Number 11 seed to reach the Final Four in the men's basketball NCAA Tournament. Johnny Juzang had 28 points for UCLA, as they became the second team that played a First Four game to make the Final Four after VCU a decade ago. In the night's other Elite Eight game, overall top seed Gonzaga downed Number 6 USC 85-66. They're the third undefeated team to make it to the Final Four since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Gonzaga and UCLA will play each other in the Final Four on Saturday, and Number 1 Baylor and Number 2 Houston will play in the other Final Four game.


🏀STANFORD, SOUTH CAROLINA ADVANCE TO FINAL FOUR IN WOMEN'S NCAA TOURNAMENT: Number 1 seeds Stanford and South Carolina both advanced to the Final Four of the women's basketball NCAA Tournament yesterday with wins in their Elite Eight games. Overall top seed Stanford defeated Number 2 Louisville 78-63, and South Carolina rolled over Number 6 Texas 62-34. Stanford will play South Carolina in the Final Four on Friday, and Number 1 UConn and Number 3 Arizona will play in the other Final Four game.

🏀REFEREE COLLAPSES DURING NCAA TOURNAMENT GAME: Referee Bert Smith collapsed during the first half of the men's NCAA Tournament basketball game between Gonzaga and USC last night in Indianapolis. Smith was taken off the court on a gurney, but was sitting up and appeared to be talking. An NCAA spokesperson said Smith was "alert and stable," and wouldn't be taken to the hospital. The TBS broadcast reported that Smith had been feeling lightheaded on the court. He was replaced by the game by standby referee Tony Henderson.

🏈NFL OWNERS APPROVE 17-GAME REGULAR SEASON: The NFL owners on Tuesday approved extending the regular season by one game to 17 games, while reducing the pre-season by one game to three games. This will be the first time in 43 years the regular season has been increased, since it went from 14 games to 16 in 1978. Because of the change, the Super Bowl will move back a week next year to February 13th.

➤U.S. OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL WINNER SHEA CHARGED WITH SEX ABUSE OF CHILD: Jimmy Shea, who won a gold medal for the U.S. in sledding at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, has been charged in Utah with sexual abuse of a child. The 52-year-old plans to plead not guilty, his attorney, Rudy Bautista, said in Shea's first court appearance Monday. Bautista said the charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and sexual battery from incidents in 2020 are the result of a family dispute and a misunderstanding about what Shea says was loving and affectionate touching. Shea won gold in the skeleton, an event in which competitors race headfirst down the ice on a sled.
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