news,english
Judy Woodruff:
A jury in Georgia is set to begin deliberating tomorrow on murder charges against three white men accused of chasing down and killing Ahmaud Arbery last year.
The panel listened today to prosecutors, who painted the shooting as racially motivated. The defense insisted it was self-defense, as the two sides spoke in closing arguments.
Linda Dunikoski, Cobb County, Georgia, Assistant District Attorney:
All three of these defendants made assumptions, made assumptions about what was going on that day, and they made their decision to attack Ahmaud Arbery in their driveways because he was a Black man running down the street.
Jason Sheffield, Attorney For Travis McMichael:
It is absolutely horrific and tragic that this happened. And, again, this is where the law is intertwined with heartache and tragedy. You are allowed to defend yourself.
Judy Woodruff:
Once the state murder case is resolved, the three men also face federal hate crimes charges.
A congressional committee wants to hear from more allies of former President Trump as it investigates the January assault on the U.S. Capitol. Longtime supporter Roger Stone was subpoenaed today. So was Alex Jones, the far-right conspiracy theorist of Infowars.
Former President Trump's longtime personal lawyer completed his three-year prison sentence today. Michael Cohen served most of it in home confinement after admitting he broke campaign finance laws and lied to Congress. He said he will continue cooperating with investigations related to Mr. Trump.
Another major investigation has concluded that former Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women. The findings by a state Assembly panel reinforce those by the state attorney general. The investigators also say that, despite his denials, Cuomo made heavy use of his staff for a book he was writing.
This was the deadline for the federal work force to be vaccinated, at President Biden's directive. White House officials announced this afternoon that the vast majority of federal workers complied.
Jeffrey Zients, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator:
The federal government has achieved 95 percent compliance. And 90 percent of the 3.5 million federal workers are already vaccinated. So we are successfully implementing vaccination requirements for the largest work force in the United States with federal employees in every part of the nation and around the world.
Judy Woodruff:
Meanwhile, a nationwide lockdown took effect in Austria to slow a spike in infections. Other parts of Europe are facing violent protests over new COVID restrictions.
We will return to this later in the program.
In Sudan, reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said today that he will be allowed to form an independent government. He's signed an agreement with military leaders after they ousted him last month. Sunday's deal drew pro-democracy protesters into the streets. They said it just provides a cover for the military power grab.
The nation of Chile now faces a December run-off in its most polarizing presidential race in decades. Ultra-conservative Congressman Antonio Kast placed first in Sunday's election, pledging to crack down on crime and illegal immigration. Leftist candidate Gabriel Boric, a former student protest leader, came in a close second.
The International Olympic Committee is defending a video call between its president, Thomas Bach, and Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. The IOC says that she confirmed in the Sunday call that she is safe and well. Peng had disappeared from public view after accusing a former top Chinese official of sexual assault.
And on Wall Street today, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 17 points to close at 35619. The Nasdaq fell 202 points, more than 1 percent, as climbing interest rates hurt major growth stocks.
The S&P 500 slipped 15.
from:pbs