5 things to know for April 14: Covid-19, police violence, Afghanistan, Russia, abortion

Protesters gathered for the third night on the streets of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, to show their anger over the police who shot Daunte Wright’s death. A county prosecutor says he hopes to have a tax decision today on former officer Kim Potter, who shot Wright after confusing the gun with a Taser. Potter and the Brooklyn Center police chief resigned after Sunday’s meeting. Meanwhile, Virginia’s attorney general is investigating an incident in which two officers aimed their weapons at a U.S. military officer, sprayed him with pepper and pushed him to the ground during a traffic stop. And in Minneapolis, not far from the riots in Brooklyn Center, the prosecution rested its case on the murder of former officer Derek Chauvin, and the defense began to move its arguments.

President Biden is expected to announce the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan by 9/11, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Today’s announcement will extend the presence of American troops after the May 1 deadline set by the Trump administration in an agreement with the Taliban. The decision to remove the troops, which effectively ended America’s longest war, was a divisive one. Some leaders and lawmakers believe that removing troops right now could risk the collapse of the Afghan government and erase US gains fought there. Others welcome the return of US forces and the settlement of a long and exhausting conflict. However, the US does not intend to withdraw all 2,500 troops. Some will remain in the country to provide diplomatic security. There are also several hundred US special operations forces in Afghanistan, whose next moves are unclear.

Russia continues to build troops along its western border with Ukraine, and Biden has proposed a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss solutions. The two leaders spoke by phone yesterday. They discussed gun control and emerging security issues, and Biden urged Putin to disqualify growing tensions in the region. The Kremlin said today that it was too early to talk about the specifics of a possible summit between the countries. The United States has been increasingly concerned about Russia’s military build-up in western Russia and Crimea, which includes more than 50,000 troops – about 18 percent of the country’s total ground forces. And there is a big bottleneck: the US and other nations are not entirely clear about Russia’s goals.

A U.S. appeals court has upheld an Ohio law banning abortions because of fetal Down syndrome. The ruling challenges the precedents set by the Supreme Court and could set new battles in similar cases at the national level. Unlike other recent abortion court decisions that have focused primarily on regulation or access to the procedure, this decision involves a woman’s reason for requesting the procedure and what she might tell her doctor. As the current Supreme Court has a conservative majority, it is more likely to support the decision if asked to resolve the issue.

Not because our hygiene is getting worse (hopefully ?!), it is a sign of a passing pandemic anxiety.

Now, this news requires a wonderful glass of ratafia!

We are certainly innovating at a fast pace on the Seltzer front.

Everyone is alarmed enough to be honest.

Sometimes language filters can be … well, you know.

Thus, it is believed that many remains of the victims rest in the Valley of the Fallen in Spain, a common grave for the victims of the civil war of 1936-39. Spain intends to open the tomb and begin digging up the remains to identify them.

NCAA Board of Governors, which said in a statement that it “strongly and unequivocally supports” transgender athletes amid recent state laws that would limit transgender participation in school sports

This gorgeous 18th century swan vending machine (moving device) is made of pure silver and even the glass water and silver fish are remarkably realistic. (Click here to view.)