Month: October 2020

The Justice Department announced Wednesday that a Maryland man faces federal charges for allegedly threatening violence against Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris and their supporters. James Dale Reed, 42, of Frederick, Md., faces one count of threats against a major candidate for president and vice president.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Maryland say that Reed left a letter threatening Biden and Harris on the doorstep of a fellow Frederick resident Oct. 4. The resident, who had signs supporting Biden in their yard, said they didn’t know the suspect but caught them leaving the letter with a surveillance camera. The letter threatened the two politicians as well as their supporters. The letter threatened to capture and beat Biden, and rape Harris before executing both on national television.

Investigators said they identified Reed based on the camera footage and a citizen tip. They said he initially denied writing the letter, but later confessed and was arrested.

Man charged for threatening to kidnap and kill Biden and Harris

Via www.cbsnews.com

A man was arrested after allegedly leaving a note threatening to kidnap and kill Joe Biden and…

10/21/2020 7:20 PM

 

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One or more COVID-19 vaccines could be ready before the end of 2020, based on the progress of ongoing clinical trials. Dr. Jay Butler, the deputy director for infectious diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reports during a news conference on Wednesday that “we’re cautiously optimistic that vaccines will be available, although in limited quantities, before the end of 2020.”  

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said he estimates that there would be enough vaccine doses for all senior citizens, health care workers and first responders by the end of January, and for all Americans who want them by late March or early April. “There is hope on the way in the form of safe and effective vaccines in a matter of weeks or months,” Azar said. The federal government is currently manufacturing six potential vaccines through a program named Operation Warp Speed. The plan is to be able to begin distributing vaccines the moment they’ve been cleared for use by the Food and Drug Administration.  

However, leaders from federal health agencies coordinating the distribution of future vaccines warned it’s still vital for Americans to follow health precautions, saying that the coronavirus pandemic is still the most serious public health crisis the U.S. has faced in more than a century. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, noted that the number of COVID-19 cases around the world passed 40 million this week and that new cases are rising again across the U.S.

Alex Azar: ‘One or two’ COVID-19 vaccines could be available by December

Via www.upi.com

Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar said Wednesday that he expects “one or two safe…

10/21/2020 6:49 PM

 

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On Tuesday, a judge ordered the release of a deposition that British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell gave in 2016 related to her dealings with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, which she has fought to keep under wraps. The documents came from a civil defamation lawsuit against Maxwell by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Maxwell of aiding Epstein in grooming and trafficking her for sex with him and other wealthy, powerful men.

U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska earlier on Tuesday ordered an immediate unsealing of the April 2016 deposition, but pushed back the timetable after Maxwell’s lawyers objected. The judge said lawyers for Maxwell and Giuffre should in the meantime work out any disputes. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected what it called Maxwell’s “meritless” arguments that her interests outweighed the presumption that the public had a right to see her deposition..

Maxwell, 58, has pleaded not guilty to helping Epstein recruit and groom underage girls for sex in the mid-1990s, and not guilty to perjury for denying her involvement under oath. She is being held in a Brooklyn jail, and if convicted could face 35 years in prison. Her trial is scheduled for next July. 

Judge OKs release of Ghislaine Maxwell transcripts

Via abcnews.go.com

A judge says transcripts of interviews lawyers conducted with the ex-girlfriend of the late…

10/20/2020 6:57 PM

 

On Tuesday, an anonymous grand juror in the Breonna Taylor case revealed that jurors were not advised about possible homicide charges against the officers involved in her shooting, and did not agree her killing was justified.

The juror, identified as “Anonymous Grand Juror No.1,” issued a statement saying that the only charge presented to the grand jury in the case was that of wanton endangerment laid against former Louisville police Detective Brett Hankison for bullets fired into her neighbor’s apartment. The anonymous juror added that self-defense and justification laws were also not explained to the grand jury.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron previously announced that the grand jury “agreed” the other two officers involved in the shooting — Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove — were justified in returning fire after Taylor’s boyfriend fired a shot at them. He also told reporters that the team walked the grand jury “through every homicide offense” and the jury was “ultimately the one that made the decision about indicting Detective Hankison for wanton endangerment.”

Taylor was shot and killed by police in a raid on her Louisville apartment in March and Hankison last month pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him by the grand jury. The other officers were not indicted.

Juror says homicide charges were not presented in Breonna Taylor case

Via www.cbsnews.com

An anonymous juror in the Breonna Taylor case said prosecutors never gave the grand jury a…

10/20/2020 7:17 PM

 

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