Former Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted today of murder for the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, the 46-year-old Black man whose neck Chauvin pinned down with his knee on the pavement of a south Minneapolis intersection for more than nine minutes. politi.co/3aJa2kv
The jury found Chauvin guilty of all three charges: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. politi.co/3aJa2kv
President Biden and Vice President Harris spoke to Floyd’s family by phone.
“Nothing is gonna make it all better, but at least now there’s some justice,” Biden said.
Harris described the family as “real leaders at this moment where we needed you.” politi.co/3aJa2kv
Former President Barack Obama credited the jury for doing the “right thing.”
But “we know that true justice is about much more than a single verdict in a single trial,” he said in a statement. politi.co/3aJa2kv
On Capitol Hill, several members of the Congressional Black Caucus gathered to watch the delivery of the verdict.
Several members grew emotional, including Emanuel Cleaver and Cori Bush, who clutched the arm of Ayanna Pressley. politi.co/3aJa2kv
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the guilty verdict “an official proclamation of what so many of us have known for nearly a year: George Floyd was murdered by an officer who was sworn to protect and serve.” politi.co/3aJa2kv
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Nancy Pelosi came to Maxine Waters’ defense on Monday, after GOP lawmakers said Waters' remarks in Minnesota stoked violence politico.com/news/2021/04/1…
Ahead of closing arguments in the trial of Derek Chauvin, Waters told demonstrators in Brooklyn Center, Minn. “to get more confrontational.”
“Maxine talked about confrontation in the manner of the civil rights movement,” Pelosi said. politi.co/32vzWmZ
Waters told The Grio today that her remarks were about “confronting the justice system, confronting the policing that’s going on,” through legislation and “speaking up.” politi.co/32vzWmZ
Last night was a big quarterly FEC filing deadline for political campaigns.
We took a look at the Q1 fundraising numbers to see who came out on top on both sides of the aisle 👇
The four most vulnerable Senate Dems are starting off the year with healthy fundraising.
Raphael Warnock, Mark Kelly, Maggie Hassan and Catherine Cortez Masto each raised more than $2M in Q1, and all four have more than $4.3M in the bank, reports @JamesArkin.
Meanwhile, potential Republican 2024 presidential hopefuls are posting seven-figure Q1 numbers – especially the ones who led efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
The CDC and FDA recommended an immediate pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine this morning after six people developed a rare and severe type of blood clot after receiving the shot politico.com/news/2021/04/1…
All those affected were women between the ages of 18 and 48, and their symptoms developed 6-13 days after vaccination. One person died and another is hospitalized in critical condition. politico.com/news/2021/04/1…
Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said the agency expects the pause on administering the J&J vaccine to last "a matter of days" politico.com/news/2021/04/1…
U.S. policymakers have spent trillions of dollars to mitigate the effects of Covid-19. But the answer to preventing the next pandemic altogether lies elsewhere. politi.co/3t2FS2D
Government spending on pandemic prevention has been on the decline for 15 years, but there's interest in changing that after Covid-19 politi.co/3t2FS2D
Lawmakers hope to put more early alert systems in place, up real time data and testing, and train more first responders politi.co/3t2FS2D
Biden's first budget request calls on Congress to provide $769 billion for non-defense programs and $753 billion in national defense funding for the upcoming fiscal year politico.com/news/2021/04/0…
Biden's budget request amounts to a 16% increase over current funding levels for domestic programs and a roughly 1.5% increase for the Pentagon politico.com/news/2021/04/0…
The Capitol complex went into lockdown today after a reported shooting outside the building and amid reports of a vehicle that crashed into a barricade. politico.com/news/2021/04/0…
The Capitol Police said a suspect was in custody following reports of the car crash into two officers on Constitution Avenue. Both the injured officers and the suspect were transported to a nearby hospital. politi.co/3sNJOUC
📸 AP
National Guardsmen ran to barricades around the Capitol, many carrying riot shields that had been stocked at the Capitol since the riot. The Capitol Police closed several blocks around the building as law enforcement responded to the scene. politi.co/3sNJOUC