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GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICERS-CIVIL RIGHTS

Ex-cops accused of violating Floyd’s rights plead not guilty

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Four former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights have pleaded not guilty to the federal charges against them. A federal grand jury indicted Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao in May for allegedly depriving Floyd of his rights while acting under government authority. Tuesday’s hearing was held remotely via videoconference. Chauvin appeared from a state prison, where he is serving a 22 1/2-year sentence for murder. Attorneys and the judge worked through about 40 pretrial motions, including a request for Lane, Kueng and Thao to stand trial separate from Chauvin. The judge is seeking more written arguments on that issue.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-THIBODEAUX

Wrongly convicted man who escaped death row dies of COVID-19

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man who escaped death row in Louisiana in 2012 after he was exonerated by DNA evidence for a murder he didn’t commit has died of COVID-19. The Minneapolis lawyers who worked to free Damon Thibodeaux call his death earlier this month unfair for someone who never complained about a life that included abuse at the hands of family members. The 47-year-Thibodeaux, who eventually settled with his family in Texas, contracted the coronavirus in August, a few days after getting his first vaccine shot. He died on Sept. 2. Thibodeaux was convicted in the 1996 death of his 14-year-old step-cousin after he was subjected to a grueling interrogation that forced him to confess. He moved to Minnesota after he was cleared of the crime in 2012.

GEORGE FLOYD-MINNEAPOLIS POLICE

Judge rejects ballot question on fate of Minneapolis police

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge has rejected the latest version of a proposed charter amendment on the future of policing in Minneapolis. Judge Jamie Anderson ruled just days before early and absentee voting begins in the city where George Floyd died in police custody. If her ruling stands, it means any votes on the question won’t count. The judge says the new language still does not ensure that voters would be able to understand the proposed amendment. She called it “unreasonable and misleading.” The city plans an 11th-hour appeal. The ruling lets officials use ballots containing the question, but prohibits them from tabulating any votes cast on the issue.

MINNESOTA REPUBLICANS-CARNAHAN

Ex-Minnesota GOP chair Carnahan says she may run for old job

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The former head of the Minnesota Republican Party who resigned under pressure tells The Associated Press that she’s considering running to get her old job back — or possibly for a public office. Jennifer Carnahan says in her first press interview since stepping down last month that she’s still “soul-searching” about her future. She maintains she was forced out by the same people who opposed her previously. She disputes allegations of a toxic work environment. She also denies foreknowledge of any wrongdoing by major donor Anton Lazzaro. Carnahan says her opportunities could include another run for party chair, or for governor or another office, but would not get specific.

AP-US-ABANDONED-SUV-BODIES

Police: Case of 4 found fatally shot in Wisconsin a mystery

MENOMONIE, Wis. (AP) — Authorities say four people found slain in an abandoned SUV in a western Wisconsin cornfield had been shot and were all from Minnesota. Dunn County sheriff’s officials said Tuesday autopsies showed the two men and two women died of gunshot wounds. Authorities don’t have a suspect or motive and believe the victims were randomly brought to the cornfield. A father of one of the victims said the four were at a St. Paul bar Saturday night and they got in someone’s vehicle when they left. A 911 caller alerted deputies Sunday to the black SUV that was off a rural road in the Town of Sheridan. Sheriff’s officials said earlier there may have been a second dark-colored SUV traveling with the vehicle that was abandoned.

GEORGE FLOYD-DEADLY FORCE

Judge suspends Minnesota’s tougher standards on deadly force

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A judge has suspended Minnesota’s new stricter standards on when police can use deadly force, halting a change in state law that followed the death of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police. The new standards, passed by the Legislature in 2020, raised the bar on officers to justify in specific terms how their actions involving lethal force were necessary. Several law enforcement lobbying groups filed a legal challenge to get the law tossed out or at least suspended until more officers could be trained on the new expectations. Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro on Monday ruled that the changes to the law will be put on hold until the lawsuit is complete.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTH DAKOTA

Fargo executive: COVID has put hospitals in dire situation

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — An executive at the largest health care system in North Dakota says its hospitals in Fargo alone could use up to 300 more nurses to handle COVID-19 cases. Dr. Doug Griffin is the Sanford Health vice president and medical officer in Fargo, the state’s largest city. He says the Fargo system has hired 150 travel or contract nurses from other areas. The system is offering increased wages, sign-on bonuses and other unspecified perks to attract more workers. Griffin says it’s the most dire staffing situation the system has ever faced. And the peak for hospitalizations due to the coronavirus is still weeks away.

AP-US-MINNESOTA-MOSQUE-BOMBING

Militia leader gets 53 years in Minnesota mosque bombing

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The leader of an Illinois anti-government militia group who authorities say masterminded the 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque has been sentenced to 53 years in prison for civil rights and hate crimes. Emily Claire Hari, who was previously known as Michael Hari and recently said she is transgender, was charged in the attack on Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center. No one was hurt in the bombing, but several members of the mosque community testified to the terror and trauma from the attack. They had sought a life sentence for Hari.