GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICER TRIAL

Chauvin to appeal conviction, sentence in Floyd’s death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder in George Floyd’s death intends to appeal his conviction and sentence, saying the judge abused his discretion or erred during several key points in the case. Derek Chauvin said he intends to appeal on 14 grounds. Among them, he claims Judge Peter Cahill abused his discretion when he denied Chauvin’s request to move the trial out of Hennepin County due to pretrial publicity. Chauvin was convicted earlier this year on state charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s 2020 death. He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years.

DISCRIMINATION-BROOKLYN CENTER POLICE

Probe: Michaels, Minnesota cops violated Black teen’s rights

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A state agency that investigates civil rights abuses has found that the manager of a suburban Minneapolis Michaels store called police on a teenager just because he is Black, and responding police used unreasonable force on him because of his race. The findings by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights stem from a 2019 incident at a Michaels store in Brooklyn Center. The agency found that both the police department and Michaels Stores Inc. violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act. A spokesperson for the Irving, Texas-based Michaels says the arts and crafts chain disagrees with the findings and will appeal. The city did not respond to a message seeking comment.

GIRL’S STARVATION DEATH

Minnesota couple get 40 years in starved daughter’s death

ELK RIVER, Minn. (AP) — The father and stepmother of an 8-year-old Minnesota girl whose emaciated body was found in the family’s apartment last year after she was beaten and starved to death have both been sentenced to 40 years in prison. Thirty-year-old Brett Hallow and 28-year-old Sarah Hallow pleaded guilty earlier to second-degree murder in the beating and starvation death of Autumn Hallow. KSTP-TV reports that the sentence included enhancements for “particular cruelty.“ Another child who lived in the family’s Elk River home told police the couple would tie up the girl with a belt and put her in a sleeping bag, with only her head exposed.

AP-US-ABANDONED-SUV-BODIES

Man accused of helping son after slayings of 4 in Minnesota

MENOMONIE, Wis. (AP) — The father of a man charged with fatally shooting four people in Minnesota and leaving their bodies in a vehicle abandoned in Wisconsin is accused of helping his son after the slayings. Darren Osborne was charged Wednesday with aiding and abetting an offender. He’s being held in Ramsey County, Minnesota, on $2 million bail. Osborne has not yet been assigned a public defender who could speak on his behalf. A criminal complaint alleges Osborne and his son, Antoine Suggs, drove separate SUVs to Dunn County in western Wisconsin on Sept. 12 and left the SUV with the bodies inside.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-HOSPITALIZATIONS

Few COVID-19 vaccinated patients need intensive care

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two large hospital systems in the Upper Midwest say fully vaccinated people make up a minority of COVID-19 hospitalizations and an even lower number of people needing intensive care and ventilators. Minneapolis-based Allina Health reported 176 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 this week and that 22% are vaccinated against the coronavirus. Sanford Health, based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, reported 159 patients with COVID-19 hospitalized this week at its facilities in the Dakotas and Minnesota, and that 10% are fully vaccinated. The hospital systems are among the first in the nation to report their COVID-19 hospitalizations by severity and vaccination status.

GOP OPERATIVE-SEX TRAFFICKING

College GOP chair pleads not guilty in sex trafficking case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A St. Thomas University student accused along with a prominent Minnesota GOP donor of child sex trafficking has pleaded not guilty to numerous charges in federal court. Gisela Castro Medina, the former chairwoman of the Minnesota college’s Republican Party chapter, made her initial appearance virtually before U.S. Magistrate Judge Becky Thorson on Wednesday. Thorson agreed to a request by lawyers on both sides that allows Medina to await trial at a halfway house. Court documents allege that Medina and Republican operative Anton Lazzaro conspired to recruit and solicit six people under the age of 18 to engage in commercial sex between May and December of 2020. Lazzaro has pleaded not guilty.

AP-US-R-KELLY

R. Kelly jury asked to make him ‘pay’ or not fall for ‘lies’

NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor in closing arguments at the sex-trafficking trial of R. Kelly has asked jurors to make the R&B superstar “pay” for his alleged sex crimes. A lawyer for Kelly countered by asking them not to fall for the “lies” of his accusers. Jurors have heard from dozens of witnesses during the trial that started on Aug. 18. The 54-year-old “I Believe I Can Fly“ singer has pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges accusing him of abusing women, girls and boys for more than two decades. The jury could begin deliberating as soon as Friday afternoon.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

Red Lake Nation: People coming for work should be vaccinated

RED LAKE, Minn. (AP) — The Red Lake Nation in northern Minnesota is requiring all people who come to the reservation for work or other business purposes to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or show weekly test results. The Red Lake Tribal Council says the mandate does not apply to pregnant women, people with documented medical conditions, children under 12 and those with certain religious beliefs or practices. The resolution that passed on a 9-0 vote. Exceptions will not be approved for philosophical, political of scientific views. The tribe says those not following the vaccination mandate are required to be tested on a weekly basis and provide documentation showing the results.