The Daily Populous

Saturday June 27th, 2020 night edition

image for Judge denies audiovisual coverage of hearings for former officers charged in George Floyd killing

A Hennepin County judge on Friday rejected an unusual request to allow cameras in the courtroom filed by attorneys representing four former Minneapolis officers charged in the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office deferred comment to Attorney General Keith Ellison's office, which is leading the prosecution.

Ellison said he supports a public trial, but warned that cameras would cause more problems in the Floyd case.

"Cameras in the courtroom could subject the participants in the trial to heightened media scrutiny and thereby be distracting to conducting the trial.".

Several media outlets, including the Star Tribune, local television stations and national outlets such as the New York Times and Court TV, have filed requests with the court to record the pretrial proceedings.

The four are due in court Monday for their second appearance on charges ranging from second-degree murder to aiding and abetting murder.

The trial schedule could be made official at a Monday court hearing in Hennepin County, though trial schedules often get delayed. »

Female genital mutilation: Report shows 68,000 victims in Germany

Authored by dw.com

The amount of women and girls in Germany who have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) has increased to 68,000, the families minister announced Thursday.

"Female genital mutilation is serious violation of human rights and an archaic crime that violates girls' and women's right to physical integrity and sexual self-determination," Minister Franziska Giffey told reporters.

The World Health Organization estimates that around 200 million women and children around the world have undergone female genital cutting. »

Microsoft to permanently close all of its retail stores

Authored by theverge.com
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All other Microsoft Store locations across the United States and globally will be closing, and the company will concentrate on digital retail moving forward.

Microsoft says Microsoft.com and the Xbox and Windows storefronts reach “up to 1.2 billion monthly customers in 190 markets.”.

Update June 26th 9:50AM ET: The article has been updated to clarify that all Microsoft retail stores will be closing. »

Country at war with COVID-19 sees rising concerns over virus: POLL

Authored by abcnews.go.com

A majority of Americans, 56%, conclude that the country's moving too quickly to reopen, while only 15% say it’s moving too slowly and 29% believe the country is moving at about the right pace.

On reopening the country, an overwhelming 81% of Democrats believe the country is moving too quickly to reopen while Republicans are more divided.

Just over four in 10 say the country is moving at about the right pace, while 28% and 29% say the country is moving too quickly and too slowly, respectively. »

Ninth Circuit Hands Trump Admin a Big Loss: the Transfer of Military Funds to Build the Wall Was ‘Unlawful’

Authored by lawandcrime.com
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The panel was clear that the “Executive Branch lacked independent constitutional authority to authorize the transfer” of military funds to build The Wall.

Bill Clinton-appointed Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas penned the opinion, with which fellow Clinton-appointed Circuit Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw agreed.

Ninth Circuit rules that Trump lacks the authority to transfer military construction funds to build his border wall. »