USA

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge on Wednesday dismissed two jurors who had been seated for the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer accused in George Floyd’s death over concerns they had been tainted by the city’s announcement of a $27 million settlement with Floyd’s family.

Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill recalled seven jurors who were seated before the settlement was announced last week, at the request of former officer Derek Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson. Cahill questioned each about what they knew of the settlement and whether it would affect their ability to serve.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Responding to concerns from state officials, the U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday that states can cut taxes without penalty under a new federal pandemic relief law — so long as they use their own funds to offset those cuts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Delegation trips to the border. Apocalyptic warnings. A flurry of press conferences.

Republicans still divided over former President Donald Trump’s legacy are seizing on his signature campaign issue, turning their focus to immigration as they try to regain the political upper hand.

UNITED NATIONS, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations is grateful for China's pledge to donate 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to UN peacekeepers, said a spokesman on Tuesday.

"It's a very generous offer, and we're very thankful for it," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told a press briefing.

China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, on Monday notified Guterres of China's intention to donate 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to UN peacekeepers, said the Chinese mission.

NEW YORK (AP) — White supremacist propaganda reached alarming levels across the U.S. in 2020, according to a new report that the Anti-Defamation League provided to The Associated Press.

There were 5,125 cases of racist, anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ and other hateful messages spread through physical flyers, stickers, banners and posters, according to Wednesday’s report. That’s nearly double the 2,724 instances reported in 2019. Online propaganda is much harder to quantify, and it’s likely those cases reached into the millions, the anti-hate organization said.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jury selection for a former Minneapolis police officer’s trial in George Floyd’s death faced a possible setback Wednesday, as the judge prepared to recall seven jurors to see if they have been tainted by news of a $27 million settlement for the Floyd family.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump again urged people to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, saying he would recommend vaccination to “a lot of people that don’t want to get it, and a lot of those people voted for me.”

In an interview Tuesday night on Fox News, Trump acknowledged that people were free to decide for themselves whether they would be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“We have our freedoms and we have to live by that and I agree with that also. But it is a great vaccine. It is a safe vaccine and it is something that works,” he said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A surge of migrants on the Southwest border has the Biden administration on the defensive, with the head of Homeland Security acknowledging the depth of the problem but insisting it’s under control and saying he won’t revive a Trump-era practice of immediately expelling teens and children.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized influence operations to help Donald Trump in last November’s presidential election, according to a declassified intelligence assessment that found broad efforts by the Kremlin and Iran to shape the outcome of the race but ultimately no evidence that any foreign actor changed votes or otherwise disrupted the voting process.

NEW YORK (AP) — The pressure against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over sexual harassment allegations reached the White House on Tuesday, with President Joe Biden saying Cuomo should resign if the state attorney general’s investigation confirms the claims against him.

Biden made the remarks in an interview with ABC News that is scheduled to air Wednesday. When asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos whether Cuomo should resign if the investigation confirms the women’s claims, Biden said “yes” and added, “I think he’d probably end up being prosecuted, too.”