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Friday, December 10, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Jury Finds Jussie Smollett Guilty

Daily Mail graphic 12/10/21

Jussie Smollett was convicted Thursday of staging a hate crime nearly three years after he claimed two Trump-loving bigots beat him up, tied a noose around his neck and doused him in bleach in a misbegotten bid to raise his public profile.  Twelve jurors in Chicago criminal court found the disgraced actor guilty of five of six counts of felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report following testimony from 13 witnesses and more than nine hours of deliberation. 

As the jurors read out the verdict, Smollett, 39, stood huddled with his attorneys and kept his eyes trained on the panelists, remaining stoic as a phalanx of family members, who watched the eight-day trial from the front row of the gallery, sat frozen.

CNN's Don Lemon turned on his old pal hours after his conviction for faking a hate crime - but continued to avoid claims he'd offered the actor inside information about the police probe into his claims. Speaking hours after Smollett was convicted of faking a racist and homophobic hate crime, Lemon said: 'He had to make up too many lies as to why he didn't want to do certain things,' said Lemon on Thursday night. 'To cover. Like another lie - and I guess he got caught up in that because he took the stand himself. 'He got angry with the prosecutor as the prosecutor poked holes in his story - calling the only other witnesses liars.'

Following the verdict, Smollett’s lead defense attorney Nenye Uche said the actor plans to fight the conviction on appeal.

“He’s committed to clearing his name, and he’s one hundred percent confident that he’s going to get cleared by the appellate court,” Uche told reporters.

➤JOSH DUGGAR FOUND GUILTY: Josh Duggar has been found guilty of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material. KNWA reports that a jury in Arkansas found the former reality TV star guilty on two counts of the charge Thursday, following a six-day trial. Duggar is scheduled to be sentenced in April He faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines for each count of possessing child sexual abuse material.

➤PFIZER BOOSTER ELIGIBILITY EXPANDED TO 16- AND 17-YEAR-OLDS: Federal health authorities expanded eligibility for a booster shot of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine to 16- and 17-year-olds yesterday, after it had previously only been okayed for adults age 18 and up. The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both signed off on it for 16- and 17-year-olds who are at least six months past their last vaccine dose. The approval comes as more cases of the new omicron variant continue to be found in the U.S., and data has shown waning immunity months after becoming fully vaccinated, as well as reduced effectiveness against omicron. Both strongly improved after a booster.

➤APPEALS COURT REJECT TRUMP'S EFFORT TO KEEP DOCUMENTS FROM JAN. 6TH COMMITTEE: A federal appeals court yesterday rejected former President Donald Trump's legal attempt to prevent the House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol from getting documents from his administration by claiming executive privilege. Judge Patricia Millett wrote Congress had a, quote, "uniquely vital interest" in studying the events of January 6th and that President Biden had made a "carefully reasoned" determination that the documents were in the public interest and executive privilege should not apply. The judge also wrote Trump also failed to show any harm that would occur from the release of the records.

➤53 KILLED IN CRASH IN MEXICO OF TRUCK SMUGGLING MIGRANTS: There were 53 people killed and at least 54 injured yesterday in a highway crash in southern Mexico of a truck packed with as many as 200 migrants who were being transported by human smugglers. The truck, reportedly carrying mostly migrants from Guatemala and Honduras, tipped over and crashed into the base of a steel pedestrian bridge. Smugglers charge migrants thousands of dollars and then pack them into freight trucks to bring them to the U.S. border or another stop along the way in Mexico.

➤BIDEN HOSTS FIRST DAY OF VIRTUAL 'SUMMIT FOR DEMOCRACY': President Biden spoke to more than 100 leaders yesterday from the White House as he hosted the first day of the inaugural Summit for Democracy, which will conclude tomorrow. Biden expressed alarm at a falling back of democracy around the globe, saying, "Will we allow the backward slide of rights and democracy to continue unchecked? Or will we together -- together -- have a vision . . . and courage to once more lead the march of human progress and human freedom forward?" Biden called it an "inflection point in history," and said that even long-standing democracies, like the U.S., haven't been immune. Other participants cited challenges including corruption and inequality, and increasing concern about disinformation and strengthening autocracies. Biden announced he was launching an initiative to spend up to $424 million for programming around the world that supports independent media, anti-corruption work and more.

➤UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS LOWEST IN MORE THAN HALF-CENTURY: The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plunged 43,000 to 184,000 last week, the lowest its been in more than a half-century. The Labor Department said Thursday that the 184,000 number was the lowest since September 1969, 52 years ago. The four-week moving average, fell below 219,000, the lowest since the pandemic struck the U.S. in March 2020. Weekly claims have fallen steadily for most of the year after reaching a high topping 900,000 during one week in early January.

➤NYC GIVES NON-CITIZENS RIGHT TO VOTE IN LOCAL ELECTIONS: The New York City Council approved a measure yesterday giving non-citizens the right to vote in local elections, meaning mayor, city council, comptroller, public advocate and borough presidents. It will apply to non-citizens who have been lawful permanent residents of New York City for at least 30 days, and those who are authorized to work in the U.S., such as "Dreamers," young immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children. It goes into effect starting in early 2023. However, the bill could face legal challenges, with opponents challenging whether the city council has the authority to grant voting rights to noncitizens.

➤POLL INDICATED AMERICANS WANT POLITICAL HOSTILITY TO END:  A new poll out yesterday finds that Americans are tired of the political acrimony in the country, with nearly three-quarters of them, 72 percent, saying it would be good for the country if Americans, quote, "reject political hostility and divisiveness and focus more on their common ground." However, they weren't optimistic about it happening, with only nine percent believing the political rancor between Americans will decrease in the next 10 years, while 42 percent think it will increase. However, there is some good news too. About three-quarters of those surveyed said they value different political perspectives and 45 percent said they have often or sometimes had a constructive conversation about politics with someone holding opposite views in the last 12 months.


➤MOM CHARGED AFTER TELLING DAUGHTER TO HIT OPPOSING PLAYER: A California mother was criminally charged yesterday after she told her basketball player teenage daughter to hit an opposing player during a tournament game last month in the city of Garden Grove. Her daughter punched the other girl in the head, causing the 15-year-old to crumple, quote, "to the floor like a rag doll," according to Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, and she suffered a concussion. The 44-year-old woman, Latira Shonty Hunt, was caught on cell phone video yelling, "You better hit her for that!," after her daughter fell to the ground on a previous play involving the victim. She is charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and battery, both misdemeanors, and could face up to a year in jail if convicted. But ABC News cited L.A. defense attorney Richard Kaplan, who's not involved in the matter, as saying it might be hard to get the charges, which he called "a stretch," to stick. He said it would be hard for prosecutors to prove that what Hunt yelled was a command and not just, quote, "an emotional response in a heated moment."

🏈VIKINGS TOP STEELERS 36-28, HOLD OFF COMEBACK ATTEMPT: The Minnesota Vikings held on to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-28 last night, fending off a comeback attempt after they'd been up 29-0 over Pittsburgh late in the third quarter. Minnesota blocked a Steelers touchdown on the final play, preventing Pat Freiermuth from being able to catch a pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the end zone. Vikins quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 216 yards and two touchdowns.


🏈RECENTLY RETIRED BRONCOS STAR DEMARYIUS THOMAS FOUND DEAD AT AGE 33: Former Denver Broncos star wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who just announced his retirement in June, was founded dead in his Roswell, Georgia, home yesterday at age 33. Preliminary reports, according to the police, indicated his death might have been caused by a medical issue. The Broncos released a statement early this morning saying they were "devastated and completely heartbroken" and calling Thomas "one of the greatest players in franchise history." Thomas played nine of his 10 NFL seasons in Denver.

🏀LEBRON GETS 100TH CAREER TRIPLE-DOUBLE: LeBron James had his 100th career triple-double last night, reaching the milestone even as his L.A. Lakers fell 105-98 to the Memphis Grizzlies. James had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He joins Lakers' teammate Russell Westbrook -- the career leader with 189 -- and retired players Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd as the only players in NBA history to have at least 100 career triple-doubles.

🏒BLACKHAWKS' FLEUR NOTCHES 500TH CAREER WIN: Chicago goalie Marc-Andre Fleury notched his 500th career win last night as the Blackhawks shut out the Montreal Canadiens 2-0. Fleury made 27 saves in the game. He joins retired players Martin Brodeur, with 691, and Patrick Roy, with 551, as the only NHL goalies to reach 500 career wins.



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