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GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICERS-CIVIL RIGHTS

3 ex-cops convicted of rights violations in Floyd killing

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Three former Minneapolis police officers have been convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights. A federal jury on Thursday rejected arguments from Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane that inexperience, improper training or the distraction of shouting bystanders excused them from failing to prevent Floyd’s killing. Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd called the verdicts “accountability,” but added: “There can never be justice because I can never get George back.” The officers were convicted of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care as the 46-year-old Black man was pinned under fellow Officer Derek Chauvin’s knee. Thao and Kueng were also convicted of failing to intervene to stop Chauvin.

GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICERS-RACE

For world, Floyd’s death was about race. Why not the trials?

For people around the world, the killing of George Floyd was about race. A white police officer, with three other officers nearby, kneeled on the neck of a Black man until he stopped breathing, and protests erupted across the country. Yet in the courtrooms where those officers faced trial for their roles in Floyd’s killing race was rarely mentioned, at least explicitly, and lawyers and judges told jurors not to consider it. The disconnect between the public prism in which the case was viewed and its handling in court is due partly to the charges federal prosecutors pursued. But to some, it also reflected the failure of the legal system to confront issues of race, and how a justice system that often seeks to be colorblind may be stacked against people of color.

GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICERS-CIVIL RIGHTS-TIMELINE

Timeline of events since George Floyd’s arrest and murder

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Floyd’s death after his arrest by police officers in Minneapolis in May 2020 sparked widespread anger after millions of people saw video of the event. The four officers at the scene were quickly fired and charged in his death. Video shows Floyd repeatedly crying “I can’t breathe” and eventually going still as Officer Derek Chauvin kneels on Floyd’s neck. Chauvin was convicted of murder last year and he pleaded guilty in December to a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights. The other three officers, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao, were convicted Thursday on the civil rights charges and still face state charges alleging they aided and abetted murder and manslaughter.

AP-US-GEORGE-FLOYD-OFFICERS-CIVIL-RIGHTS-JUROR-ANONYMITY

Judge seals juror names in 3 cops’ trial over Floyd killing

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The judge overseeing the federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights has sealed the names of the jurors for at least 10 years. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson issued the order around five hours after the jury began deliberations Wednesday. He wrote that the court assured prospective jurors that their personal information would be kept confidential. He said federal law allows him to do so “in the interests of justice.” He said this is “clearly” such a case due to the “significant public attention this trial has generated.”

TAX CUTS-MINNESOTA

Minnesota Senate GOP unveils massive $8.5B tax cut proposal

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Senate Republicans on Thursday announced a tax cut proposal that would cost more than $8.5 billion over the next three years. Republican lawmakers say the proposal is the largest tax cut in the state’s history. It would reduce the lowest-tier income tax rate from 5.35% to 2.8% and eliminate taxes on all Social Security benefits. Senate Democrats called the tax legislation “premature and reckless,” and urged caution on spending. The proposal comes after the Senate passed a $2.73 billion proposal earlier this month to pay the state’s debt to the federal government for jobless aid during the pandemic.

TEACHERS-STRIKE NOTIFICATION

Twin Cities educators notify districts of possible strikes

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Unions representing teachers and school staff in the Twin Cities have filed the paperwork that begins a 10-day countdown to potential strikes. The notification is required by state law. It means possible strikes by more than 8,000 educators in Minneapolis and St. Paul could begin as soon as March 8. The strikes could affect 62,000 public school students in the two districts. The unions have been asking for higher wages, smaller classes and more mental health supports. If either party fails to reach an agreement in negotiations and educators go ahead with a strike, classes would be canceled in that district’s schools.

FOREVER CHEMICALS-MINNESOTA

Minnesota bills to ban ‘forever chemicals’ in more products

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota House committee on Wednesday considered three bills that would ban a family of chemicals known as PFAS from cosmetics, cookware and ski wax. The family of chemicals are sometimes called “forever chemicals” because they persist in the environment. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a broad term for manmade chemicals that were designed to make products resistant to heat, oil, stains, grease and water. Opponents of the bill contend that the language in the bills describing the chemicals is too broad and would apply to hundreds with different properties. All three bills passed in committee and head for their next committee stop.

AP-US-TRAYVON-MARTIN-KEY-PLAYERS

Trayvon Martin 10th anniversary: A look at the players

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Trayvon Martin was visiting his father in Sanford, Florida, when the 17-year-old Black teen was fatally shot Feb. 26, 2012, during a confrontation with George Zimmerman. A neighborhood watch volunteer, Zimmerman claimed self-defense and was later acquitted during a jury trial. Martin was unarmed. His death fueled the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement just a couple years later. His mother, Sybrina Fulton, has gone from being a county worker to becoming a leader in the social justice movement. Zimmerman has been arrested multiple times, and the City of Sanford is undergoing a reckoning over race relations.