GEORGE FLOYD-OTHER OFFICERS-TRIAL
Judge delays trial of 2 ex-cops in Floyd killing until 2023
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The judge overseeing the remaining case against two former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd’s killing has ordered that the trial be delayed until January to improve prospects for a fair trial. Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng had been due to go on trial next Monday on charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter in the May 2020 death of Floyd. But Judge Peter Cahill on Monday delayed the trial until Jan. 5. Cahill denied a motion for a change of venue. But he said two recent connected cases and the publicity over them have created “a reasonable likelihood of an unfair trial” if it were to begin next week.
PORNOGRAPHY PLEA
St. Paul man pleads guilty to online pornography scheme
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A St. Paul man has pleaded guilty to federal charges that he ran an online pornography scheme that victimized at least 500 girls across the United States and elsewhere. The Pioneer Press reports that 31-year-old Yue Vang entered the plea on Thursday to two counts of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography and one count of interstate communications with intent to extort. Prosecutors are seeking a 72-year prison sentence. According to court documents, Vang created fake female profiles online to entice girls to create sexually explicit video images and send them to him. Prosecutors alleged he knew they were all under 16 because their ages were posted in profiles or they told him.
CHILD SHOT
Minneapolis 3-year-old shot in stomach
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A 3-year-old boy in Minneapolis recovering from a gunshot wound to his stomach. The Star Tribune reports the boy was shot outside a residence in north Minneapolis around 8:45 p.m. Sunday. He was taken to North Memorial Hospital where he underwent surgery. A police spokesman says the boy is in stable condition. The boy is at least the eighth child 10 years old or younger hit by gunfire in Minneapolis since April 2021.
SCUBA DIVER DIES
Scuba diver pronounced dead after being pulled from lake
ORONO, Minn. (AP) — Authorities say a scuba diver was found dead in a suburban Minneapolis lake. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office says a rescue team was sent to Maxwell Bay on the north end of the Lake Minnetonka near Orono to look for the missing diver at noon Friday. With the help of sonar equipment, a diver who had been with the man before he disappeared found him about 30 feet from his last known location. Paramedics on shore attempted life-saving measures before the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The sheriff’s office is investigating.
AP-US-CLINIC-SHOOTING-MINNESOTA
Man convicted of murder in Minnesota clinic attack
BUFFALO, Minn. (AP) — A jury has found a man guilty of murder and other counts in a shooting attack on a Minnesota medical clinic last year that killed one staff member and wounded four others. KARE-TV reports that jurors began deliberating Thursday afternoon, following testimony by the defendant, Gregory Ulrich, and short closing arguments. Ulrich is charged with murder, attempted murder and other counts in the shooting in Buffalo, northwest of Minneapolis. Prosecutors began closing arguments by naming each person who was shot, calling them “innocent, defenseless victims who were front-line workers in the medical field.” Ulrich’s attorney tried to dispel the notion that the attack was premeditated. Investigators have said Ulrich was addicted to opioids and angry his supply had been cut off.
BIDEN-ETHANOL
EPA raises amount of ethanol that must be blended with gas
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Biden administration has set new requirements that increase the amount of ethanol that must be blended into the nation’s gasoline supply. The Environmental Protection Agency says it will set the 2022 levels for corn-based ethanol blended into gasoline at 15 billion gallons. But even as the new rules increase future ethanol requirements, the EPA is retroactively reducing levels for 2020 by 2.5 billion gallons and by 1.2 billion gallons for 2021. That reflects the lower amount of ethanol produced and decreased sales of gasoline during a period when the virus led to a drop in driving.
CRUMBLING RAMP
Roseville officials condemn parking ramp after wall falls
ROSEVILLE, Minn. (AP) — Roseville officials have condemned a mall parking ramp after a huge chunk of concrete wall fell from an upper level onto a road in front of a store. Minnesota Public Radio reports the chunk fell from the Rosedale Center mall on Wednesday afternoon. It landed in front of a Macy’s store. The chunk was about two car lengths long. No one was hurt. City Manager Patrick Trudgeon says city inspectors have banned parking in or below the ramp until a structural engineer can determine the ramp’s integrity.
YARD WASTE-NO DRIVERS
Garbage company suspends yard pickups in 7 Minnesota cities
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A garbage company has stopped picking up yard waste in at least seven metropolitan cities due a lack of drivers. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Waste Management confirmed Thursday that it had suspended yard waste service in Robbinsdale, Stillwater, Columbia Heights, Little Canada, St. Anthony, St. Paul and Vadnais Heights due to a staffing shortage. Company spokeswoman Julie Ketchum said high demand for people with commercial driver’s licenses has created the shortage. She said the yard waste pickup suspensions could last weeks and could expand to other cities going forward. Robbinsdale Alderman Pat Backen says the company’s customers deserve better.
The Associated Press
